SANAA: Saudi Arabia has carried out a series of lethal air raids across the border with Yemen, killing 16 civilians and wounding 19 others, Yemen's Shiite rebels said today. In one of 25 raids launched today, six civilians were killed and six others were injured, women and children among them, according to a statement issued by the rebels, who Riyadh has been battling since early November.

Ten other civilians were killed in a market hit by one of the air raids carried out on Sunday, the rebels said in a separate statement posted on their website.

The Shiite rebels, also known as Zaidis, have said they would withdraw from Saudi territory if Riyadh halts attacks on their fighters, launched on November 4 after the kingdom accused them of killing a border guard and occupying two Saudi villages. The Yemeni government launched a major offensive in August to try to end the uprising.