Senior Houthi and Saleh militia killed in coalition air strikes

Several senior members of Houthi militias and forces allied to deposed Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh were killed during an air strike by the Saudi-led coalition, reported Al Arabiya News Channel on Thursday.

The air strike targeted a gathering of Houthi and Saleh militias in the governorate of Amran, just north of Sanaa.

The news comes after earlier reports that coalition jets bombed a military airport in the city of Ataq in the Shabwa province.

Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition also targeted Yemen's defense ministry and military catering buildings in the capital Sanaa which are controlled by Houthi militias and their supporters, Agence France Press cited witnesses saying earlier on Thursday.

Three explosions were heard as warplanes hit the building in central Sanaa and thick smoke billowed over the area, according to AFP.

The attack was part of raids that struck positions across the capital, including a base of the elite Republican Guards in Fajj Attan, in south Sanaa.

The Republican Guard is a force that has remained loyal to deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who stepped down in 2012 following nationwide protests against his three-decade rule and who is allied with the Houthi militias against the government.

[With AFP]