The UN Security Council on Friday called for a "credible" probe after an air strike by a Saudi-led coalition that killed at least 29 children in Yemen.

The coalition itself, following calls from the UN and United States, announced an investigation into Thursday's strike, reported AFP.

Britain’s UN Ambassador Karen Pierce, whose country holds the Security Council presidency, told reporters after a closed-door meeting on Yemen that "if any investigation that is held is not credible, the council will obviously want to review that."

The raid that hit the bus in Dahyan market in the Houthi rebel stronghold of Saada also injured at least 48 others, including 30 children, according to the International Committee for the Red Cross.

The coalition, which has been fighting Yemen's rebels since 2015, claimed the bus was carrying "Houthi combatants".

It initially said the coalition had carried out a "legitimate military action", targeting a bus in response to a deadly missile attack on Saudi Arabia on Wednesday by Houthi rebels.

On Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the coalition air strike in Yemen, calling for "an independent and prompt investigation".

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S. is "calling the Saudi-led coalition to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the incident."

"We call on the parties to take appropriate measures to protect civilians," she added.

It has long been believed that Iran is planning to use the Houthis to take over Yemen and seize the key strategic port of Aden, which controls the entrance to the Red Sea and ultimately to the Israeli resort city of Eilat.

Iran denies it is backing the Houthis and has also denied Saudi Arabian accusations that Tehran provided the Houthi rebels in Yemen with ballistic capabilities.

Saudi forces have previously shot down Houthi missiles aimed at its territory with Patriot surface-to-air missiles purchased from the United States.

UN-brokered negotiations on Yemen broke down in 2016 amid demands for a rebel withdrawal from key cities and power-sharing with the Saudi-backed government.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)