Yemeni rebels killed in air raids

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-17 02:06

Yemeni army said on Wednesday dozens of Shiite rebels have been killed and others wounded in a series of air raids in Northern Yemen, pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV reported.

Al-Jazeera correspondent said eyewitnesses told him that a number of rebels fell in the attacks which targeted an area about 50 km away from Harf Sufian which separates Saada from other Yemeni provinces.

Some eye witnesses said a number of civilians were among the victims as the area was neighboring a displacement camp. However, a military spokesman said the army's attack concentrated only on the strongholds of the Houthi rebels in the mentioned area, saying that all the casualties were among rebels.

However, the Houthi militant group denied the reports, saying that none of its militants have been killed within the past two days. The group also affirmed that it has successfully controlled the vantage point of Jebel al-Ahmar Mount, south of Saada province, which the army says it is now under its own control.

Meanwhile, a senior military source said the army has successfully controlled vast swaths of the hills overlooking Damaj area, southeast Saada province in northern Yemen. Some 22 people were earlier killed in clashes between the local citizens and Houthi rebels in the same area.

The military source added that the Yemeni army destroyed two trucks carrying arms and ammunition to the rebels in Saada province and stopped an attack by the rebels in Saada. At least one rebel was killed in the fighting after a group tried to seize a vantage point in the area.