Saudi Airstrike Kills at Least 25 Civilians in North Yemen

Attacks destroy three homes in residential area

Continuing Saudi Arabia’s problem of picking up airstrikes in northern Yemen and not hitting any military targets, the warplanes pounded a residential area in Jawf Province, destroying three houses and killing at least 25.

The victims included a number of women and children, and at least nine civilians were critically wounded on top of the fatalities. Saudi officials, as usual, did not comment on why they attacked the houses.

This was the second round of Saudi airstrikes in north Yemen this week, and in both cases, only civilians were reported killed. Saudi Arabia has yet to respond to either incident. The Saudis are facing deep international criticism for targeting civilians in the war.

Saudi officials have cited attempted strikes by north Yemen’s Houthi movement, though the Houthis have targeted military and government sites, and rarely do much damage. Couched as retaliation, the Saudis rarely hit Houthi targets, but usually just attack Shi’ite neighborhoods.

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.