SANAA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Seven people, including a child, were killed and seven others injured in an airstrike on a prison in Al-Jawf province in northern Yemen on Monday, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported, attributing the strike to Saudi Arabia.
The strike hit the prison in Al-Hazm, the Houthi-controlled provincial capital, the broadcaster said, adding that the injured had been taken to a nearby hospital.
Al-Masirah cited the provincial civil defense chief Hassan Saboula as saying that 25 inmates remained trapped beneath the rubble.
Footage aired by al-Masirah showed extensive damage to the facility and rescuers searching through debris.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.
The attack came amid an escalation in Yemen, where government forces backed by Saudi Arabia have been battling Houthi forces on several fronts.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
A UN-brokered truce that took effect in April 2022 expired six months later without a formal extension, but a fragile de facto ceasefire has largely held until the recent escalation.
The Houthi group announced a maritime ban on Saudi shipping in July and has since claimed attacks on Saudi tankers and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. ■
