OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:15 PM PT — Sunday, January 19, 2020
Dozens were killed and wounded after a ballistic missile attack on a mosque in Yemen. Sunday reports said at least 79 people are dead and as many as 130 are wounded after Saturday’s strike, which took place in an area controlled by the Saudi-led coalition.
#Yemen
The scene after alleged Houthis’ missile attack in Marib province, during which at least 70 fighters of #Saudi-led coalition were killed and more than 100 injured.
Pro-Hadi sources said that those troops just finished a pray and stayed together when the missile hit them. pic.twitter.com/zLQwQGh8jy— Eastern Lion 东方军事爱好者 ?????????? (@Sunkway_China) January 19, 2020
The attack was blamed on Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. However, the group did not immediately claim responsibility.
FILE – In this Sept. 21, 2019 file photo, Shiite Houthi tribesmen hold their weapons as they chant slogans during a tribal gathering showing support for the Houthi movement, in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File)
A UN diplomat confirmed the attack and cautioned those involved to focus on policy instead of violence.
“I have said before that the hard-earned progress that Yemen has made on de-escalation is very fragile,” stated Envoy Martin Griffiths. “Such actions can derail this progress.”
Yemen’s President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi condemned the attack, calling it “disgraceful”and “cowardly.”
رئيس الجمهورية: الافعال المشينة للمليشيات الحوثية يؤكد دون شك عدم رغبتها او جنوحها للسلام https://t.co/3Hwn1MmdCr
— عبدربه منصور هادي (@HadiPresident) January 19, 2020
The strike was described as the bloodiest attack in the region since the start of the region’s civil war.
