Saudi-led airstrikes hit Yemen hotel, killing at least 41

CAIRO -- An airstrike by a Saudi-led coalition struck a hotel near Yemen's capital Wednesday, killing at least 41 people as the alliance stepped up airstrikes against the Houthi rebels and their allies in and around Sanaa.

The escalation comes amid a standoff in Sanaa between the two main components of the rebel alliance, Shiite fighters from the north known as Houthis and loyalists of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh. There are mounting fears of street violence.

There were conflicting reports on the identity of the victims of the hotel strike, with doctors saying they were farmers and officials and witnesses saying they included rebels. The coalition has been battling the rebels, who control Sanaa, since early 2015.

The fighter jets targeted a two-story hotel in the town of Arhab, about 22 miles north of the capital, Sanaa, officials said.

Bodies still were being retrieved from the rubble, witnesses said. Another airstrike hit a checkpoint manned by the Houthis a few miles from the hotel, they added.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters. The witnesses requested anonymity for fear of retribution.

Footage of the area aired on al-Masirah TV, a Houthi-run satellite news network, showed bodies hanging out of a simple cinderblock building. Bystanders wrapped mangled corpses into blankets to try to carry them away.

The TV network said 41 civilians were killed, and the death toll was expected to rise. Officials and witnesses told The Associated Press the death toll had reached 60, and the majority of those killed were Houthis rebels.

Physician Ali al-Rakmi, who was helping with rescue efforts, said there were more than 100 people inside at the time of the attack, all qat farmers.

The plant's leaves are chewed for a stimulant effect, a widespread tradition among Yemeni men.

Al-Rakmi said they had retrieved 35 bodies so far.

Fahd Marhab, head of the Umrah hospital, about miles from the site of the airstrike, said there were no wounded and that all the people in the hotel were killed in the 3 a.m. airstrike.

He also said they were mostly farmers.

Conflicting accounts are common in the aftermath of deadly airstrikes.

There was no immediate comment from the coalition.