Airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition in Yemen kill 10

SANAA, Yemen (AP) – Security officials and eyewitnesses said Monday that at least 10 Yemeni rebels were killed in airstrikes by the Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition.

They said air raids hit a military camp in Amran province, also wounding more than 15 others. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media, while the witnesses did so for fear of their safety.

Also Monday, the Saudi-led coalition said Saudi forces intercepted a ballistic missile fired across the border from Yemen. The statement said the missile and its launch pad were destroyed before it could cause any damage. Saudi forces frequently fire across the Saudi border into Yemen at rebels, and missiles fired by the rebels into Saudi Arabia have killed civilians in the past.

The fighting continues despite the fact that Yemen’s warring sides are taking part in indirect U.N.-led peace talks in Kuwait. The war has killed more than 6,200 civilians, displaced millions and pushed the Arab world’s poorest country to the brink of famine.

The conflict pits the Yemeni government, backed by the coalition, against Shiite rebels allied with forces loyal to the country’s former president. The rebels took over the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014, and the coalition began airstrikes against them in March 2015.

The U.S. military is also helping Yemeni, Emirati and other Arab coalition forces in their fight against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, the group’s affiliate in Yemen.