At least 73 soldiers killed in missile attack ‘on mosque’ in Yemen

Yemen's president told the military it needed to be on high alert and ready for battle: Getty
Yemen's president told the military it needed to be on high alert and ready for battle: Getty

At least 73 soldiers have been killed in a missile attack reportedly launched by Houthi rebels at a mosque in Yemen.

Dozens more were left wounded in the attack, which targeted a mosque in a military training camp in the city of Marib, two medical sources told Reuters.

The Iran-aligned Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for Saturday’s attack.

Yemen’s president told the military on Sunday it needed to be on high alert and ready for battle.

The attack “confirms without doubt that the Houthis have no desire for peace”, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said in a statement on Yemen’s state news agency Saba.

The attack came after several assaults by Saudi-backed government forces on rebel targets east of the capital Sanaa.

At least 22 people were killed on both sides in those attacks, officials said.

Yemen has been the site of a proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia after Mr Hadi’s government was ousted in 2014.

The Saudi-led military coalition intervened to drive out the Houthis and restore Mr Hadi’s internationally recognised government.

The war has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced more than 3 million and brought the country to the brink of a major famine.

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