India, Nov. 9 -- The death toll from airstrikes near Yemen's Capital has increased to 44, most of them women and children, health authorities from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels said overnight. Separately, Iran's foreign ministry has dismissed comments made at the weekend by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iranian demands for ending the war have been "ridiculous."

The strikes on the village of al-Shariya, east of Sanaa, wounded 40 others, including eight children and nine women, said Anees al-Asbahi, spokesperson for the Houthi-run Health Ministry. The dead included 21 children and 10 women, he said, making the strikes one of the deadliest attacks in the latest bout of violence in Yemen's year-long civil war.

Al-Asbahi said rescue...