ADEN, Yemen

The Yemeni army said Sunday that a missile attack killed eight civilians, including children, in the northwestern province of Hajjah, accusing the Houthi group of carrying out the strike.

The attack targeted a gathering of civilians in the Hiran district during an iftar, the meal marking the end of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the media center of the Fifth Military Region said in a statement.

The death toll is likely to rise as several people sustained serious injuries in the attack.

Children were among those gathered around the iftar table at the moment of the attack, medical sources said.

There was no comment from the Houthi group regarding the accusation.

Yemen has been roiled in a civil war since the Houthi group captured most of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014 and forced the internationally recognized government to relocate to the southern city of Aden.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul