Yemen's Houthis hold funeral for PM killed in Israeli strike

Yemen's Houthi rebels held a funeral on Monday for their prime minister and 11 other senior officials killed in an Israeli airstrike that penetrated the group.

Twelve coffins draped in flags were displayed at Sanaa's Al-Shaab mosque, as masked gunmen patrolled the area and thousands of mourners flooded in.

Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi, nine ministers, and two cabinet officials were killed as they attended a government meeting in the Sanaa area on Thursday.

It was the highest profile assassination to be announced in months of attacks by Israel during the Gaza war. The United States also waged an intense bombing campaign against Houthi targets from March to May this year.

On Sunday, the Houthis detained at least 11 United Nations workers as part of a round-up, prompting a protest from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

A Yemeni security source told AFP on Saturday that Houthi authorities had arrested dozens of people in Sanaa and other areas "on suspicion of collaborating with Israel."

The Houthis also fired a missile at an Israeli tanker in the Red Sea on Sunday, reprising a campaign they have waged throughout the Gaza war.

The missile landed close to the Liberian-flagged Scarlet Ray with a "loud bang," the UK Maritime Trade Operations monitoring agency said.

AFP