Rebel rockets kill 14 civilians in Yemen city: medics

August 25, 2015 02:38

Iran-backed rebels in Yemen fired rockets into a residential district of Taez, killing 14 civilians, mostly women and children, officials said today, as battles raged for control of the key city.

The bodies of those killed, including seven women and four children, were taken overnight to the morgue at a public hospital in Taez, said the medical officials.

Several other civilians were wounded and hospitalised.

The Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies had fired Katyusha rockets on Sunday targeting the district in central Taez, according to medics and residents.

Viewed as the key to controlling the capital Sanaa, Taez has been the scene of deadly fighting between the rebels and loyalists of Yemen's exiled government.

Battles in the city, southwest of Sanaa, have intensified in recent weeks as loyalists pressed an offensive in which they have so far recaptured five southern provinces.

Pro-government forces claim to control "75 per cent" of the city, including the presidential palace and the residence of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh -- whose supporters are fighting among Huthi ranks.

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