Explosions shake Yemen’s Marib city center killing at least 8 and wounding 27: SABA

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis fired missiles on the central city of Marib on Thursday, killing at least eight people and wounding as many as 27, the state news agency reported.

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Three big explosions shook the city and a local official blamed the blasts on missile and drone strikes by Iran-backed militia forces trying to seize the gas-rich region.

Two residents reported the blasts and said they heard the sound of ambulances. The local official told Reuters the Houthis had fired a missile and an armed drone at the city.

There was no confirmation from the militia, which has launched an offensive to take the internationally recognized government’s last stronghold in the north of the Arabian Peninsula country.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties from the explosions.

Earlier this month at least 17 people were killed in an explosion near a petrol station in Marib. The government said it was caused by a Houthi missile, but the group said it had only hit a military camp.

Yemen has been mired in violence since the Houthis ousted the government from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014, prompting an Arab coalition to intervene months later.

The United Nations, backed by the US, is pressing for a nationwide ceasefire.

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