Nation In Brief: Death toll high in airstrike against Yemen’s capital
Sanaa, Yemen – Thunderous airstrikes hit Yemen’s capital, a Red Sea naval port and a border province Wednesday, killing at least 75 people and injuring more than 100 others, officials and residents said. It was believed to be the largest single-day death toll of the 2-month-old Saudi-led aerial offensive.
Terrified civilians cowered at home or rushed into the streets as massive secondary explosions rocked a residential neighborhood in the capital, Sanaa, following a hit on a special forces base known as the Central Security camp. Like many of the military installations and weapons caches targeted by weeks of airstrikes, the base lay close to densely populated civilian areas.
The Health Ministry said at least 40 people died and scores more were hurt in the strikes in Sanaa, which was overrun months ago by Shiite Muslim Houthi rebels. The Saudi-led campaign has yet to drive the insurgents from the capital or from strongholds in the strategic city of Aden in the south.
Other main targets included the port of Hodeida, home to the country’s biggest naval base, which had been in the hands of the rebels and elements of Yemen’s armed forces that took up the insurgent cause. More bombs hit the province of Hajjah, which borders Saudi Arabia. Taken together, at least 35 people died in those strikes, officials said.
The Saudi-led regional forces launched their offensive March 26 against the Shiite rebels, who at the time were advancing on Aden. Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi had sought haven in the city, but he and his government fled to Saudi Arabia in the face of the Houthi onslaught.
Suspect arrested in apartment fire case
Los Angeles – A man has been arrested on suspicion of starting a massive inferno that destroyed an unfinished apartment building and damaged adjacent office towers in downtown Los Angeles, authorities said Wednesday.
Dawud Abdulwali, 56, of Los Angeles, whose name may be an alias, was arrested Tuesday on a traffic warrant and only later was booked on suspicion of aggravated arson and arson of a structure, potential charges that could lead to a life sentence, fire officials said.
The arrest culminated a six-month investigation involving the Los Angeles Fire Department, LAPD and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Investigators believe he acted alone and had no connection to the complex that burned, said Carlos Canino, special agent in charge of the ATF Los Angeles Field Division.
The Dec. 8 fire gutted the 1.3-million-square-foot Da Vinci complex that was in the wood-framing stage.