Some 300 insurgents have been killed in Yemen in the past 48 hours in attacks by the Saudi-led military coalition backing government forces on the ground in the battle of Marib.
The coalition has been operating in Yemen since 2015, on the side of government forces fighting Shiite Houthi rebels backed by Iran, Saudi Arabia’s main rival in the region.
Since February, rebels have launched an offensive to seize Marib, an oil-rich region and the government’s last stronghold in the north.
According to a statement broadcast by Saudi state television, “more than 134 Houthi rebels have been killed in the past 24 hours in strikes against nine of their military vehicles in the al-Abdiyah area” in southern Marib.
On Monday, the coalition announced that “more than 156” Houthis had been killed in a “targeted operation” in the same 24 hours, about 100 kilometers from the city of Marib, the provincial capital.
Al-Abdiyah’s sector is besieged by the Houthis who are trying to reach the city of Marib from several fronts.
Earlier in the day, rebel spokesman Yahya Sharier said “the Houthis are now at the gates of Marib after ousting mercenaries and traitors from many fronts.”
This information could not be confirmed by independent sources.
