Special to WorldTribune.com

Houthi rebels unleashed a rocket attack on Aden that killed 20 civilians and wounded 41 on July 1.

The Iran-backed forces fired 15 Katyusha rockets at the Al-Mansura district of Aden, controlled by forces loyal to Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, according to AFP.

The attack came 12 days after peace talks in Geneva between Yemen’s warring factions ended without a ceasefire agreement.

On June 30, 1,200 prisoners, including suspected Al Qaida operatives, escaped during clashes at a prison in central Yemen, officials said.

In the July 1 attack, the Houthis and their allies began firing rockets before dawn on the busy streets of Aden where Muslims were preparing for the day-long Ramadan fast. AFP reported that another round of rockets hit mourners as they were burying the dead from the earlier attack.

Adding more fuel to the fire in Yemen has been a series of coordinated bombings claimed by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), including a car bomb attack in Sanaa on June 29 that killed at least 28 people.

The prison break in the city of Taiz is the largest in a series that has further eroded Yemeni security amid the ongoing war.

A security official said “popular committees” forces linked to Houthi ally Ali Abdullah Saleh allowed the prisoners to escape.

“Heavy fighting took place near the central prison and the popular committees approached and seized control of the area, but Saleh’s forces opened the prison doors,” the official said.

Al Qaida views the Houthis as apostates worthy of death and the two groups are fighting each other in several areas in central Yemen.

  Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Al Qaida, Iran-backed Houthis pound Aden, ISIL, kill 20 civilians; 1, Wolrd Tribune.com