A Saudi-led coalition warship was possibly sunk and 250 Houthi fighters were reportedly killed in assault on Yemeni city

Reuters

A Houthi militant tries to block people from entering a street where the presidential compound was hit by air strikes in Sanaa, Yemen May 7, 2018.

• The Saudi-led coalition launched a major assault on Yemen's port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday, killing 250 Iranian-backed Houthi fighters. 
• The Houthis also claim to have sunk a coalition warship that was trying to reach shore with equipment and troops, but the Saudis nor the United Arab Emirates have commented on the claim. 

The Saudi-led coalition launched a major assault on Yemen's port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday, killing 250 Iranian-backed Houthi fighters, according to UPI. 

The coalition's initial assault on Hodeidah, which the UN has warned could end up killing 250,000 civilians and exacerbate the already terrible humanitarian condition, included several airstrikes and also led to the capture of 140 Houthi fighters, UPI reported. 

The Houthis at the same time claimed to have hit and sunk a coalition warship with two missiles, according to Jane's 360. The Saudis and the United Arab Emirates - the two major actors in the coalition - have not commented on the claim. 

Almasirah Live, a Houthi media outlet, has broadcasted purported footage of the coalition ship on fire: 

The coalition warship was trying to land military equipment and troops on the port city when it was hit, Jane's 360 reported. 

There were even a few scant claims that US military advisers were on board the coalition warship when it was hit, but Pentagon Spokesman Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway told Business Insider that there are no US military advisers on the ground and he said he hadn't even heard of the ship getting hit. 

The US marginally backs the Saudi-led coalition, announcing yesterday that it's helping show the coalition which targets not to hit in order to limit civilian casualties. 

The US also helps the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen with "limited intelligence sharing," aerial refueling for coalition jets, and training to make coalition airstrikes more precise, Rankine-Galloway previously told Business Insider.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday urged both sides to reach a diplomatic solution and allow humanitarian aid into Hodeidah, which has been closed because of the assault, UPI reported. 

The conflict in Yemen has already been described as one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world, with at least eight million people on the brink of starvation due to famine, and one million children infected with cholera.