Huge blasts outside Sanaa after coalition air raids

Huge explosions rocked the outskirts of the Yemeni capital Friday after Saudi-led air strikes against positions held by Huthi Shiite rebels and their allies, residents said.

"It was a morning of terror," a resident of a southern suburb told AFP after a string of raids on military bases in Dhabwa and Rimat Hamid.

In north Sanaa, coalition warplanes attacked a stadium and a camp of the Republican Guards loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has sided with the Huthis.

Other targets included another camp, in Samaa, and Dalaimi air base, near the capital's international airport, residents said.

Residents said the coalition also struck Huthi positions in Marib province, to the east of Sanaa, but no immediate casualty tolls were available for any of the raids.

The coalition has waged an air campaign against the Huthis since March 26 in an effort to restore the authority of President Abedrabbo Mansour al-Hadi, who has fled to Riyadh with members of his government.

A United Nations conference to relaunch political talks on Yemen is to open in Geneva next week, despite uncertainty over who will attend.
Source: AFP