SRINAGAR: The death toll from an airstrike on a busy market in Yemen’s southwestern Taiz province rose to 30 on Friday, with eight others reported injured, according to the Houthi-run Health Ministry, as the Houthis and local authorities traded accusations over responsibility for the attack.
The Houthi Health Ministry said Saudi aircraft targeted Hadara market in the Waziyah district, killing 30 people and injuring eight. The revised toll was announced in a statement carried by the group’s Saba News Agency.
However, Houthi Health Ministry spokesperson Anees Alsabahi told Houthi-run television channel Al Masirah that 15 people had been wounded in the airstrikes in al-Waziyah, adding that the death toll was expected to rise.
Alsabahi blamed the Saudi-led coalition for the attack.
Local authorities in Taiz acknowledged that an attack on a crowded market had killed and injured people but did not provide an exact casualty figure. They, however, blamed the Houthis for the incident and said no airstrikes had been carried out in the area.
The conflicting accounts could not immediately be independently verified by The Associated Press, which said it could not establish responsibility for the attack.
If confirmed, the incident would rank among the deadliest attacks since fighting resumed between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces.
