SAUDI officials admitted on Saturday that “mistakes” were made when more than 40 children were killed in an air strike on a bus in Yemen last month, promising to hold those responsible accountable.

The targeting of schoolchildren returning from a picnic received global condemnation and calls for an independent investigation after the Saudi-led coalition claimed the bus was a legitimate target.

Its own investigations concluded that the air strike on the Yemeni market in Saada province was allowed under international law as it believed the vehicle was carrying Houthi leaders and soldiers. 

However the head of the coalition’s Joint Incidents Assessment Team, Lt Gen Mansour al-Mansour, conceded that there had been some “collateral damage.”

In a statement the coalition said: “The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition expresses regret over the mistakes, extends its sympathies, condolences and solidarity to the families of the victims.”

It promised to work with the Yemeni government to compensate the families of those killed in the bombing.

A recent UN report suggested that the Saudi-led coalition may have committed war crimes during the three-year bombing campaign of Yemen, which has killed 10,000 people and left millions on the brink of starvation.