Iranian military experts, Hezbollah members killed in Sanaa explosion: report
Iranian military experts, Hezbollah members killed in Sanaa explosion: report
Several Iranian military experts, a number of Houthi rebels and members of Hezbollah were killed in a blast early on Monday following their failure to launch a missile amid an ongoing ceasefire with the Saudi-backed government.
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The military experts were killed in a weapon storage deport south of Sanaa, where nearby houses suffered damage following the explosion [Getty-file photo]
Six Iranian military experts have been reportedly killed in two explosions in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa early on Monday after the rebels failed to properly re-install a missile in a weapons storage warehouse, according to sources.
The incident took place at the Al-Hafa camp, south of the capital, despite a UN-brokered truce being in place, according to the Yemeni Khabar news agency.
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An unknown number of members of the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group were also killed in the explosion, as well as dozens of Houthi rebels, according to the same military source.
The missile was reportedly being re-installed inside a weapon storage warehouse at the Al-Hafa camp, before it reportedly exploded alongside a laboratory belonging to the Iran-backed group.
The blast caused terror among nearby residents, as well as huge damage to houses and buildings in Sanaa, as videos circulating online have shown.
This incident is the second of its kind to hit Sanaa since the UN-brokered truce took effect on 2 April. A few days ago, another missile exploded near Sanaa airport, killing five Houthi engineers, injuring civilians, and damaging their homes, according to the London-based pan-Arab news outlet Al-Arab.
The Saudi-backed Yemeni government blamed the incident on the "dangerous flow" of smuggled Iranian weapons and accused the Houthi rebels of exploiting the truce, which was extended for a further two months earlier this month.
The coalition has accused the Houthis of using the truce to amass and hide weapons in the capital's residential areas.
Houthi military sources attributed the denotations to "a result of the remnants of the shells and cluster bombs ultimately leading to the explosions".
A similar incident occurred at an arms depot in the southern Abyan province last month, killing three people, although the cause of the incident was not revealed.
Other explosions have rocked other Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen - such as Taiz - where 11 children were wounded in shelling by the Iran-backed rebels last month. In June, three soldiers were killed amid sporadic clashes with the Houthis, despite the armistice.
The truce, which was renewed last week for two months, was welcomed by aid agencies seeking to alleviate the suffering in the war-torn country. However, Southern Transitional Council (STC) leaders have warned that war with the Houthis is "to be expected", despite the ceasefire.
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