A projectile explosion in Yemen’s Red Sea city of Hodeida has killed five women at a wedding function and left seven children injured.
The explosion came two days after 26 people were killed in blasts that rocked the airport of Aden, the city of Yemen, as government ministers got off a plane.
The government and Huthi rebels blamed each other for the Friday night attack near Hodeida’s airport, a frontline between their forces on the edge of the key Huthi-held port.
“The explosion struck at the entrance to a complex of several wedding halls”, a witness told.
According to officials, five women were killed, and children were among seven others wounded when what appeared to be an artillery shell hit the wedding venue.
General Sadek Douid, condemned it as “an odious crime committed by the Huthis against civilians”.
However, no group has claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack. The Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, denied they were behind it.
The Saudi-led coalition later said it had shot down an explosive-laden Houthi drone that was targeting the presidential palace.
Saudi-backed government forces launched an offensive in June 2018 to retake Hodeida, the main entry point for humanitarian aid to the Arab world’s poorest country.
