DUBAI — A Saudi-led coalition has denied its warplanes bombed the Omani ambassador's home in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, target of months of its air strikes, and called for an investigation, Saudi media reported on Sunday. The Omani Foreign Ministry summoned the Saudi ambassador in Muscat on Saturday and handed him a protest letter over the air strikes, which the state news agency ONA said had targeted the residence of its ambassador to Yemen. The coalition's military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Asiri, said Saturday's air strikes had targeted the Yemeni Interior Ministry building, but not the Omani ambassador's residence, Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic daily said. The ministry had been turned into a military operations center for the Houthis, the Iranian-allied group that controls the capital and large swathes of the country, the daily said. Asharq al-Awsat quoted Asiri as saying the coalition would welcome an investigation and suggested the house may have been hit by a Houthi mortar shell. “One would be able from the beginning to distinguish between a mortar strike and a plane strike,” he said. The coalition began air strikes against the Houthis and allied forces in late March after they pushed from their northern stronghold toward the southern port of Aden. Three expatriates were killed and 28 others injured in a shell attack by Houthi rebels from across Yemen in Samta governorate in the southern Jazan province on Friday morning. Maj. Yahya Al-Qahtani, spokesman of the Civil Defense Directorate in Jazan, said the attack took place on a residential compound of workers near Samta General Hospital (SGH), situated 70 km from Jazan city, at around 7.15 a.m. The injured including four Saudis and 24 expatriates. — Agencies
