Airstrikes in Yemen leave dozens dead, nationwide power outage

Jan. 21 (UPI) — More than 70 people were killed and hundreds injured during airstrikes in northern Yemen on Friday, according to aid organizations and national officials.

An attack on a prison in Saada that also hit a telecommunications hub knocked out the country’s internet on Friday, and more than 100 people were also killed or injured overnight in a temporary detention center.

The death toll in the war-torn country — which includes at least three children — is growing after a violent week.

“There are many bodies still at the scene of the airstrike, many missing people,” Doctors Without Borders’ mission head Ahmed Mahat told The New York Times. “It seems to have been a horrific act of violence.”

The humanitarian organization Save the Children said that the true number of casualties is feared to be higher and emergency workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross are combing through the building’s ruins to free people trapped in the debris.

As of Friday morning, no one had claimed responsibility for the new airstrikes, but speculation centers around a Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen’s war against Houthi forces in 2015.

The Houthis attacked a major airport in the United Arab Emirates last week, killing three people and wounding six others in retaliation for the UAE’s support for Saudi Arabia.

The coalition responded to the attack by striking Sana on Monday evening and killing at least 20 people. Friday’s attacks also hit Sana and its airport.