Houthis shell Yemeni presidential palace in Maarib

MAARIB, Yemen

A number of Yemeni soldiers were killed and injured Saturday when the Houthi Shia militia targeted a presidential palace in Maarib, a medical source told Anadolu Agency.

The source said five soldiers were killed and another five were injured in the Katyusha rocket attack.

In September of last year, the Houthis overran Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, before capturing additional parts of the country, forcing Saudi-backed President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi and his government to flee to Riyadh.

In March, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began an extensive air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains in Yemen and restoring Hadi’s embattled government.

Hadi has since returned to Yemen’s port city of Aden, which currently serves as the temporary seat of his government, while the Houthis remain in control of capital Sanaa.

Fighting, meanwhile, continues to rage in several parts of the country between the Houthis and their allies on one hand and Saudi-backed pro-Hadi forces on the other.

According to UN figures, some 6,000 people have been killed since Saudi Arabia and its allies began air and ground operations in Yemen almost nine months ago.