Death toll rises to 53 following Houthi missile attack on military base in SE Yemen

Aden (Yemen), October 19 (IANS): The death toll from a Houthi missile attack on a military base in Yemen's southeastern oil-rich province of Shabwa on Monday has risen to 53, with more than 200 others injured, the local government of Shabwa said in a statement.The government said several Houthi-fired ballistic missiles struck the Ahmed Al-Sulaimani Training Centre inside Al-Alam military base in Jardan district, near Ataq, the provincial capital, where newly recruited internal security personnel were undergoing training.The figures remained preliminary, the government said, adding that the wounded were being treated at government and private hospitals across Shabwa, with critically injured patients to be transferred to specialised medical facilities when necessary, Xinhua News Agency reported.The new toll marked a sharp rise from an earlier count provided to Xinhua by a local medical source, who said at least 25 soldiers had been killed and more than 30 wounded after three missiles struck the base. Emergency teams continued evacuating casualties from the site as hospitals mobilised to receive the wounded.The Houthis later claimed responsibility for the attack. Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, citing a military source within the group, said Houthi forces had struck gatherings of what it described as "Saudi-backed forces" at Al-Alam military base.The group also renewed its call for "all Yemenis" to leave military camps where it said Saudi Arabia was mobilising forces, according to al-Masirah. Meanwhile, the Shabwa authority called on Yemen's government and the Saudi-led coalition to provide the province with air defence, surveillance and early-warning systems.Al-Alam is a large military facility in Jardan district used by forces aligned with Yemen's internationally recognised government. Monday's attack came amid intensified fighting and exchanges of attacks between the Houthis and government forces supported by the Saudi-led coalition across several fronts.Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of the country's north. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.