CAIRO: An air strike by a Saudi-led coalition struck a hotel near Yemen’s capital on Wednesday, killing at least 41 people as the alliance stepped up air strikes against the Houthi rebels and their allies in and around Sanaa.

There were conflicting reports on the identity of the victims of the hotel strike, with doctors saying they were farmers and officials and witnesses saying they included rebels. The coalition has been battling the rebels, who control Sanaa, since early 2015.

The fighter jets targeted a two-storey hotel in the town of Arhab, about 35 kms north of the capital, Sanaa, officials said. Bodies were still being retrieved from the rubble, witnesses said.

The TV network said 41 civilians were killed and that the death toll was expected to rise further. Officials and witnesses told The Associated Press that the death toll had reached 60 and that the majority of those killed were Houthis rebels.

There was no immediate comment from the coalition.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2017