Houthi drone attack kills 2 children in Yemen

Yemen's Houthi rebel group launched a drone attack against a village in the country's northwestern province of Hajjah on Monday, killing two children, a security official told Xinhua.

"Drones of the Houthi rebel militia targeted a residential village in Hayran district of Hajjah, leaving two children killed and several others injured," the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

"The Houthi drone attack targeted scores of students while they were heading to their primary school in the same village," he said.

The other children who were critically injured were transferred by ambulances of pro-government forces to a nearby hospital.

Many similar attacks were carried out by the Houthis against residential areas controlled by the government during the past weeks, according to the official.

There was no comment from the Houthi officials regarding the attack.

Hajjah's drone attack comes two months after the expiration of a UN-brokered truce, which Yemen's warring factions failed to extend despite negotiations facilitated by the United Nations.

Sporadic military confrontations in other Yemeni regions in the past few weeks have raised concerns about the return of violent conflicts that may further complicate the situation in the war-ravaged Arab country.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia stormed several northern cities and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.

The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.