Airstrike on prison reported in Houthi-controlled area in N. Yemen

SANAA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- An airstrike hit a prison in Houthi-controlled Al-Jawf province in northern Yemen on Monday, causing casualties, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported, attributing the strike to the Saudi-led coalition.

The strike hit the prison in Al-Hazm, the provincial capital, the report said, adding that women and children were among the casualties.

Al-Masirah quoted the prison director as saying that 35 inmates and a woman visiting her husband remained trapped beneath the rubble.

Footage aired by al-Masirah apparently showed extensive damage to the facility and rescuers searching through debris.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on social media platform X on Monday that the Saudi military operations in Yemen "will not go unanswered," alleging that the operations included airstrikes, reconnaissance flights and the supply of weapons to Yemeni government forces.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

A UN-brokered truce that took effect in April 2022 expired six months later without a formal extension, but a fragile de facto ceasefire has largely held until the recent escalation.

The Houthi group announced a maritime ban on Saudi shipping in July and has since claimed attacks on Saudi tankers and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.