Briefly

YEMEN

Clash with Houthi takes heavy toll

At least 50 Houthi rebels and Yemeni pro-government troops have been killed as fighting intensifies for the key city of Marib, military sources said on Sunday. "In the past 48 hours, 43 Houthi fighters were killed mostly in coalition airstrikes" west of Marib, a military source told Agence France-Presse, another source said at least seven loyalists died in fighting. About 400 people have been reported dead in clashes for Marib this month, following a lull in fighting in the region. Marib, about 120 kilometers east of the capital Sanaa, sits at the crossroads between the southern and northern regions in Yemen.

MIDDLE EAST

Israeli raid leaves five Palestinians dead

Israeli forces killed five Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, said the Israeli military. According to the army, the goal of the raid was to arrest Hamas operatives involved in a cell that planned to carry out an attack against Israelis. Israeli officials have long voiced concern that Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, intends to gain strength in the West Bank. In response to the killing, Hamas spokesman Abdel Latif al-Qanua warned in a statement the deaths of the Palestinians "will fuel the Palestinian protest and the struggle by all means".

UNITED STATES

Three fatalities as train leaves line in Montana

A passenger train with over 100 people on board derailed in the US state of Montana on Saturday afternoon, killing at least three people and injuring several others, local media reported. The Amtrak's Empire Builder train traveling between Seattle and Chicago derailed about 4 pm local time. There were about 147 passengers and 13 crew members on the train at that time, according to a statement by Amtrak. The exact number of the injured was undisclosed, Liberty County Sheriff's Office told local media, adding that the rest of the passengers had been safely evacuated. Amtrak is a railroad service company operating many passenger rail routes in the United States.

Agencies - Xinhua