Special to WorldTribune.com

A day after Saudi Arabia shot down a Scud missile fired by Houthi rebels, the Saudi-led coalition carried out air strikes on the Houthi-held armed forces headquarters in Sanaa.

“At least 20 civilians and 25 soldiers and officers were killed” in four raids on June 7 that hit the headquarters in Sanaa, a medic at the scene said.

The Saudis shot down a Scud missile that was fired into the kingdom by the Iran-backed Houthis on June 6, the first reported use of the missile since the war began in late March.

A statement by the Saudi-led coalition said the Scud was fired toward Khamees al-Mushait, home to the kingdom’s largest air force base, and was intercepted by a Patriot missile.

The coalition on June 7 also launched air raids on the Jumaineh military base, east of Sanaa, witnesses said. The base is currently home to the elite Republican Guard that has remained loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has allied himself with the Houthis.

Another air strike hit an arms depot at Nahdain, south of Sanaa.

The coalition stepped up bombing raids in the north as well, heavily hitting Houthi strongholds in Saada, Hajja and Amran.

In the south, coalition jets targeted rebel positions on the northern and western outskirts of Aden in support of southern fighters backing exiled President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The UN set June 14 as the start date for peace talks in Geneva between the warring Yemen factions. Both the Houthis and representatives of the exiled Yemeni government said they would attend.

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