MARIB, Yemen

The death toll from an attack yesterday by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on a gas station in the strategic city of Marib has risen to 21, local media reported Sunday.

Two children were among the victims, Yemen’s Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Muammar al-Iryani told the country’s official news agency SABA.

Al-Iryani noted that the attack deliberately targeted civilian settlements and was a terrorist crime.

But Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the Houthis’ Supreme Political Council, denied on Twitter that the group carried out the attack.

Noting that they had asked the Ministry of Defense about the issue, al-Houthi said the authorities said that a military location was targeted by the attack and that they have evidence on this matter.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sana'a.

The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict in Yemen has so far claimed over 233,000 lives.