7 killed, 40 wounded in SW Yemen as gov't, Houthis give conflicting accounts

SANAA, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people were killed and 40 others wounded in airstrikes in Yemen's southwestern province of Taiz on Sunday, Houthi-run media reported.

Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said that warplanes struck shops at the Central Market in Al-Ta'iziyah district, east of Taiz city, describing the casualties as civilians and blaming Saudi Arabia for the attack.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government forces gave a different account, saying in a statement on social media platform X that "our warplanes launched strikes" targeting a Houthi military camp and armored vehicles in the same area.

A military source aligned with the Yemeni government told Xinhua that the strikes hit what was believed to be a Houthi military camp in the area, sending columns of smoke into the air and triggering secondary explosions.

"The strikes hit the camp as Houthi fighters and reinforcements were gathering there," the source said on condition of anonymity, adding that dozens of fighters were killed or wounded.

Fighting between Yemeni government forces and the Houthi group has intensified across southwestern Yemen recently after the group seized the strategic port city of Mocha and Mayyun Island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait earlier this month.

Yemen's conflict began in late 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.