Houthi-owned ammunition depot blast kills five, injures dozens

Five engineers affiliated with the Houthi militia were killed while trying to assemble a ballistic missile that exploded in an ammunition depot in Sanaa, a security official said.

The blast, which took place in a residential neighborhood and lasted for about two hours, injured several civilians living nearby and damaged some homes, according to local media reports.

The official attributed the sound of the blast that echoed across the capital on Saturday morning to the explosion in the Houthi-owned depot near Sanaa International Airport, reported Al-Masdar Online.

Houthis have been accused of using the airport’s facilities as warehouses to manufacture ballistic missiles and drones, claims that the Iran-backed militia denied.

Thousands of Yemenis took to the streets of Taiz city recently to protest against the extension of the UN-sponsored truce that ends on August 2 amid the ongoing siege by the Iran-backed Houthi militias on their city.

The Houthis have so far refused to implement the truce article on ending their stifling seven-year siege on Taiz city. The truce, which has been in effect since April 2, demands, among its articles, the reopening of routes to Taiz, a move the militias have rejected.