Houthi missile targets Marib tribal leader's house, kills civilians

At least 13 civilians, including women and children have been killed after a ballistic missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels struck their house in Yemen's central Marib city. 

"A Houthi ballistic missile hit the house of Sheikh Abdul Latif al-Qibli in Al-Jawba on Thursday evening during a meeting with tribal leaders fighting on the government's side," a government military official announced.

READ MORE: Houthi missile attack kills over a dozen people in Yemen's Marib

"Thirteen people, including a child, were killed," he said. The death toll was confirmed by a medical source in the area.

Several more houses were damaged and 16 civilians were wounded in Thursday's attack, according to the officials, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorised to brief the media.

Operation of Saudi-led coalition

The missile attack came after coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia announced that 95 Houthi rebels had been killed, with 11 military vehicles destroyed in operations carried out on Thursday in Marib.

For years, Houthi rebels have attempted to take oil-rich Marib to complete their control over the northern half of Yemen.

In recent months, they accelerated their push. The incessant fighting has claimed a high number of fighters from both sides over the past several weeks.

READ MORE: Houthis advance in Shabwa and Marib as fighting intensifies in Yemen

The Yemeni civil war began in 2014 when Houthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa, 120 kilometres west of Marib, prompting Saudi-led forces to intervene and prop-up the government a year later.

Tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been displaced in what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.