Saudi Arabia Launches Strikes On Yemen Rebels

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By Sherine Tadros, Middle East Correspondent, in Cairo

At least 18 people have been killed in Yemen as a result of Saudi-led airstrikes against Iran-backed Shia rebels, known as the Houthis, according to Houthi media quoting health officials.

Warplanes launched attacks on Sana'a airport and its al Dulaimi military airbase shortly after the Saudi ambassador in Washington announced the action.

They have reportedly committed 100 fighter jets and 150,000 troops to the operation, called Decisive Storm.

They have also hit Houthi bases and installations in the south of the country as well as a residential area in Sana'a.

The military intervention came after Yemen's President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi asked the Arab League, meeting this weekend in the Egyptian resort Sharm el Sheikh, to act quickly to stop the Houthi advance in the south of the country where he had taken refuge.

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Gallery: Yemen: Aftermath Of Airstrikes By Saudi Arabia And Gulf Allies

People search for survivors under the rubble of houses destroyed by an air strike near Sana'a Airport in Yemen. Continue through for more images

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Airports across the country have been closed and Saudi says it is in full control of the airspace over Yemen.

Egypt and Sudan have confirmed they took part in the airstrikes and Arab media reported Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar are part of a broad, Saudi-led coalition.

Turkey has also expressed its support for the coalition.

In the aftermath of the strikes, four Egyptian warships have entered the Suez Canal en route to the Gulf of Aden "to secure" the waters that control southern access to the canal.

In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said: "We support the Saudi Arabian military intervention in Yemen following President Hadi's request for support."

The White House said it too backed the operation and that Barack Obama had authorised US "logistical and intelligence support".

National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said: "While US forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to co-ordinate US military and intelligence support."

Yemen's slide toward civil war has made the country a crucial front in mostly Sunni Saudi Arabia's rivalry with Shia Iran, which Riyadh accuses of stirring up sectarian strife with its support for the Houthi rebels.

A senior leader of Yemen's Houthi movement said the Saudi air strikes amounted to an aggression against his country and warned they would set off a "wide war" in the region.

Mohammed al Bukhaiti said: "The Yemeni people are a free people and they will confront the aggressors.

"I will remind you that the Saudi government and the Gulf governments will regret this aggression."

Iran also condemned Saudi action an "invasion" and a "dangerous step" that would only worsen the crisis.

The Syrian regime followed suit with similar warnings regarding continued Arab intervention in Yemen.

Fighting has spread across the Arabian peninsula country since last September when the Houthis seized Sana'a and advanced into Sunni Muslim areas.

Mr Hadi, who supported Washington's campaign of deadly drone strikes on a powerful al Qaeda branch based in Yemen, had been holed up in Aden with his loyalist forces since he fled Sana'a in February.

He is believed to be in the Saudi capital Riyadh, according to state TV. There are also reports that he may fly to Sharm el Sheikh for the summit.

In Washington, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham voiced concern that the Saudi attack could mark the start of a broader Sunni-Shia regional war.

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