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1 Sep, 2016 13:32

More explosions in Yemeni capital after imam & his family killed in airstrikes (VIDEO)

Footage of what's supposed to be powerful airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has emerged online. The video comes after reports that at least 16 people, an imam and his family, were killed in a single strike.

The strikes hit a gas station and badly damaged a hospital nearby, locals reported on Twitter.

It is the latest in a series of increasing attacks during the past few weeks, after UN-sponsored peace negotiations between the Houthis and their General People's Congress party allies on one side and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government on the other ended without a deal earlier this month.

READ MORE: At least 60 dead in Yemeni suicide bombing, ISIS takes responsibility

On Wednesday, at least 16 people, including children, were reportedly killed after an airstrike hit the home of an imam – also in the capital. The imam, his family, and the families of his two sons were all killed in the attack, including at least four children, witnesses told Reuters.

"The air raid happened in the morning and because the house was made of mud, it took us until noon to be able to dig the bodies out," said Nayef, a local resident who helped recover those killed.

The Saudi-led airstrikes reportedly targeted the al-Sahan district, populated mostly by Houthis.

On Monday, at least 60 people died in a suicide bombing that hit a southern Yemeni militia compound in the town of Aden, with Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) claiming responsibility.

Last week, the Red Cross pledged to provide Yemen with morgues due to the increasingly overwhelming death toll from the war, which has been ongoing since March 2015.

READ MORE:‘Saudi Arabian forces never once targeted ISIS militants in Yemen'

According to the latest UN figures, so far at least 10,000 people have died in the conflict.

More than 3.1 million Yemenis have been displaced since the civil war broke out, and over 80 percent of the country’s population of 21 million people is presently in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

Political commentator Marwa Osman told RT that one problem is that the current battle for Yemen is a ‘gang’ row over territory.

“It’s more of a gang problem, of who is going to take control now: Is it the rebels who are actually backed by Saudi Arabia, which is still bombing and killing people in Sanaa, or is it going to be ISIS, which is also backed by Saudi Arabia? Who is going to take control? This is the fight that is going on there.”

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