Yemen: 13 die at wedding party in second alleged Saudi coalition air strike

An alleged Saudi coalition's air strike on a wedding party in Yemen has killed at least 13 people, a week after a similar raid slaughtered 131 civilians at a wedding causing widespread condemnation.

The latest bombing hit a house where dozens of people were celebrating in the town of Sanban, held by rebel Houthi forces. Witness and local resident Taha al-Zuba told AFP that "coalition warplanes launched the attack". "The house was completely destroyed," he said. "Warplanes were heard in the area ahead of the attack."

Medical sources said another 38 people were wounded. But Saudi coalition spokesman brigadier general Ahmed al-Assiri denied any role in the attack. "We did not conduct any operation in Dhamar...No strikes there, definitely," he told AFP.

On 28 September, a suspected Saudi strike killed 131 people, including women and children, in one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in the country.

Saudi Arabia has denied launching the aerial bombardment that caused the wedding party carnage, which took place in Al-Wahijah, a village near the Red Sea port of Al-Mokha.

A coalition spokesman suggested that local militias may have been responsible for the raid. Brigadier-General Ahmed Al Asseri told Reuters: "There have been no air operations by the coalition in that area for three days. This is totally false news."

The strike hit two tents during a wedding for a local man linked to the Houthis. On 28 September a security source put the death toll at 38, with at least 40 people injured. A medical source at a local hospital in Maqbana, where the casualties were taken, told Reuters on 29 September that the death toll from the attack had risen to 131.