Death toll in missile attack on military base in Yemen rises to 80

The death toll in the ballistic missile attack at a military training base in the northeastern province of Marib on Saturday has risen to at least 80, a Health Ministry official said on Sunday.

As many as 150 Yemini soldiers have sustained injuries in the attack, the official told Xinhua news agency on condition of anonymity.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but Yemen's Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi has blamed Houthi rebels for what he described as a "heinous" and "cowardly terrorist operation"

The attackers targetted a mosque at the al-Estikbal military base on Saturday evening. Most of the victims belong to the fourth presidential protection guard.

Yemen has been locked for years in an armed conflict between government forces led by President-in-exile Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the armed Houthi opposition faction. Despite a peace accord signed in Stockholm in 2018, tensions have reportedly been escalating in recent months.