Saudi Airstrike Destroys Yemen Police Station, Kills 26

Dozens Still Trapped Under Rubble

Saudi warplanes today attacked and destroyed a police station in the Yemeni capital city of Sanaa, killing at least 26 people and wounding 15 others. The tolls are expected to rise, with locals saying as many as 30 others are unaccounted for and believed trapped under the debris.

There isn’t a final statement on the identities of the victims, but the indications are that the overwhelming majority of the slain were Yemeni police, with a handful of other members of the Shi’ite Houthi faction that rules the city also present.

Saudi Arabia attacked Yemen last March, attempting to reinstall the former Hadi government in power and expel the Shi’ites. Over that period, there has been a massive civilian toll from Saudi airstrikes, which have been pounding residential areas across the nation.

In recent weeks, the airstrikes have been heavily concentrated against Sanaa, as previous predictions of ground troops quickly capturing the capital have not borne out, and pro-Saudi forces appear increasingly resigned to having their “temporary” capital in the southern port of Aden.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.