Death toll in Saudi-led airstrike hits 58, say officials

Most of the victims of the airstrike on Saturday are prisoners, an official said.
Airstrikes in Yemen (File photo | AP)
Airstrikes in Yemen (File photo | AP)

SANAA: A Yemeni security chief said that the death toll in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition on a prison complex has risen to 58.

Abdel-Rahman al-Mansab, a security chief of the district of al-Zaydia in the Red Sea port of Hodeida, said most of the dead in Saturday's airstrike were prisoners. They were among a total of 115 inmates who were serving jail terms for misdemeanor crimes or who were still in pre-trial detention.

The city is under control of Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels, who seized the capital and much of the northern region in 2014.

Other officials said at least 20 of the victims were anti-Houthi political detainees. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the press.

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