MARIB: The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on Friday it has killed another 126 Houthi rebels in the past 24 hours in raids around the northern pro-government stronghold of Marib.

The coalition, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government, has reported near-daily strikes over the past month against the Iran-backed Houthis, each time claiming high losses.

The rebels, who have for months waged an offensive against the government stronghold, rarely comment on losses.

On Friday, the coalition said its strikes “destroyed 16 military vehicles and eliminated 126 terrorists,” the official Saudi SPA news agency reported.

The Houthis began a major push to seize Marib city in February and, after a lull, they renewed their offensive in September.

Marib, capital of the oil-rich province of the same name, is the embattled government’s last bastion in northern Yemen.

Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, prompting Saudi-led forces to intervene to prop up the government the following year.

Tens of thousands of people have died and millions displaced in what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2021