Houthis attack pro-gov't military base in Yemen's Hodeidah

ADEN, Yemen, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Fighters of the Houthi group launched a missile attack against a pro-government military base in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday evening, causing huge blasts, a security official told Xinhua.

The security source said on anonymity that "a missile fired by the Houthi rebels landed on Abu Musa Ashary army base in Alkhokha district of Hodeidah, killing two soldiers and injuring 18 others at the scene."

Initial reports indicated that the Houthi-fired missile hit inside the base used by different units of the pro-government forces in Hodeidah, the source said.

Witnesses told Xinhua that ambulances were seen coming out from the pro-government military base following two explosions.

A statement revealed by the pro-government Giants Brigades said that four missiles fired by the Houthi group targeted the densely populated Alkhokha, causing huge blasts.

In recent days, fighting between Yemen's government forces and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels intensified in various areas of the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

The warring forces have so far failed to withdraw from Hodeidah and its southern districts in accordance with the UN-sponsored Stockholm Agreement reached last December.

The deal aimed to avert an all-out offensive on the lifeline port city, which is the key entry of Yemen's most commercial imports and international aid.

The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile and seized much of the country's north, including the capital Sanaa and Hodeidah.

The four-year civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced 3 million others, and pushed the country to the brink of famine.