Death toll in Houthi rebels' missile attack in Yemen's Marib rises to 70

SANAA - The death toll of Yemeni soldiers killed in a ballistic missile attack by Houthi rebels in Yemen's northeastern province of Marib on Saturday has risen to at least 70, a government source said Sunday.

Dozens of soldiers were still suffering critical injuries from the attack, the source, who works in the Marib hospital, told Xinhua by phone.

The attack at Saturday's sunset hit the gathering of soldiers near a mosque in al-Estikbal military base.

The government officials blamed the Iran-allied Houthi rebels for the attack, but the Houthis have not claimed responsibility.

Hours after the Marib attack, the Saudi-led coalition, which backs the Yemeni government forces, launched a series of airstrikes on a Houthi-controlled military base in the southeast of the Houthi-held capital Sanaa, with no casualties reported, according to the residents.

The Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against the Houthis who stormed the capital Sanaa and controlled much of the country's north in late 2014.