"The team [of investigators] concluded that the representatives of the Yemeni General Headquarters provided the air force operations office with the information, which later proved to be wrong, on the exact location of the Houthi military leaders in Sanaa," the coalition’s statement said, as quoted by the Al Arabiya broadcaster.
Besides, the coalition stressed that the strike was supposed to be conducted against a military target and had not been agreed upon with the coalition’s Central Command.
The coalition also admitted the necessity to take legal measures regarding those responsible for the incident and to start providing the relatives of the victims with compensations.
On October 8, the airstrike hit the funeral ceremony in Sanaa. According to UN estimates, the attack claimed over 140 lives and left more than 525 people wounded, while media suggested that 213 people may have been killed. AT first, the Saudi-led Arab coalition denied allegations of the Houthi rebels that it was involved in the incident, however, later it agreed to investigate the matter.
Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Houthi rebels since 2014. The Houthis are backed by army units loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Since March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries has been carrying out airstrikes against the opposition Houthis at the request of ousted Hadi.
