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Yemen war: Five people killed by Houthi missile in Marib

Yemeni army officials fear more civilians will die from injuries suffered in missile attack
Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, control Sanaa and vast areas of the north and west (AFP)

Five people, including children, were killed, and 18 injured by a Houthi missile fired on Marib city in central Yemen, according to medical sources. 

The attack took place at dawn after Houthi forces fired a Katyusha rocket on residential areas in Marib city. 

The Saba government agency claimed that five people were killed, and 22 wounded, accusing the rebels of having shot at a bustling market in the city controlled by the government and located east of the capital Sana'a. 

A Yemeni army official told the National that the mortality rate could increase after claiming that 25 civilians were injured in the attack. 

"The Houthis targeted the neighbourhood of al-Mujama near the Athban mosque in the centre of the city with a Katyusha missile in the early hours of Tuesday, killing seven civilians and wounding at least 25," said Khalil al Zikri, from the Yemen army's moral guidance department. 

"Al-Mujama is always crowded because it has many stores and a public market, and the rebels meant to target to kill innocent people, no more."

The war in Yemen opposes forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, supported in particular by Saudi Arabia, to Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, who control Sanaa and vast areas of the north and west.

Since March 2015, nearly 10,000 people have been killed and more than 55,000 wounded in this conflict that is tearing apart the most impoverished country in the Middle East.