Saudi-led airstrike kills 48 in Yemen's capital

Sanaa: At least 48 people were killed in a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a hotel near a Houthi-run checkpoint north of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, officials in Yemen said on Wednesday.

A senior security official in Sanaa, Ali Al-Asimi, said that the coalition conducted the attack. Most of the dead at the hotel were merchants.

The Saudi officials were not immediately available to comment.

According to the Health Ministry, the strike was one of two dozens in the country. At least 26 people were injured, CNN reported.Saudi Arabia has been leading an alliance of Arab states against Iran-backed Houthi militants, who toppled the globally recognized leadership in Yemen. As the coalition and rebel groups attack one another, terror groups operate unhindered and civilians were trapped in the crossfire.

A farmer Mohammed al-Sarhi, told CNN, "most of those killed at the hotel were buried under rubble and died while sleeping.

"Meanwhile, Yemen`s Interior Ministry said that seven Houthi fighters were died in coalition airstrikes at other locations in the capital.

Houthi Shia movement is also known as Ansar Allah, which is backed by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.Since March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi`s request.