Saudi airstrike in Yemen's Houthi heartland kills family, including four children

Twelve civilians have been killed in two airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen's northern province of Saada, a heartland of the Houthi rebels.

Rebel-controlled SABA news agency reported that planes bombed a house in the town of al-Safra, killing nine residents including four children.

A second airstrike hit a car carrying civilians, killing three and wounding seven, although the second attack was not verified.

Officials who confirmed the first attack spoke on condition of anonymity due to them not being authorised to speak to the media.

Since March 2015, a Saudi-led military coalition has led airstrikes in Yemen against Iran-backed Houthi rebels who orchestrated a bloody coup against President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi's government in September 2014, which was forced to flee the capital.

Riyadh, which has been accused of war crimes in its intervention against the rebels, has been frustrated into a stalemate in its effort to restore the authority of the exiled government.

The war has brought Yemen to the brink of collapse, with two-thirds of the country's population of 19 million now living in need humanitarian aid. 

Less than 45 percent of the country's hospitals are operational, with those still in use suffering from huge shortages in power, staff and medication.

Sieges and blockades from both sides have exacerbated the humanitarian situation, with rights groups accusing all sides of gross violations against the civilian population.