Houthi media reports 32 Saudi airstrikes across four Yemeni provinces

Sanaa: Yemen’s Houthi group said Wednesday that Saudi-led coalition warplanes had carried out 32 airstrikes across four provinces over the past few hours amid escalating fighting in Yemen.

According to Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, aircraft from what it called the “Saudi aggression” carried out 32 airstrikes across the provinces of Marib, Al-Jawf, Taiz and Hodeidah over the past few hours. The broadcaster did not identify the specific targets or immediately report casualties or damage.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia on the report.

A military official on the ground confirmed to Xinhua that the airstrikes targeted Houthi-controlled areas, providing air cover for government forces amid ongoing ground fighting, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Four airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition hit Yemen’s northeastern Marib province on Tuesday, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported, hours after the Houthis claimed large-scale missile and drone attacks on neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

The strikes targeted Al-Jubah district in the southern part of the oil-rich province, al-Masirah said, without immediately reporting casualties or damage. Saudi Arabia has yet to comment on the reported strikes.

Earlier Tuesday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the group had launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco facilities in Abha, Najran and Jazan, as well as King Khalid Air Base near Khamis Mushait. He vowed that the group would continue operations “deep inside Saudi territory.”

Saudi authorities said the Houthi attacks targeted civilian and economic facilities in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, injuring 73 people, including women and children. The Saudi Energy Ministry said fires broke out and operations at some energy facilities were temporarily halted.

The escalation comes as fighting between government forces and the Houthis widens across Yemen. Government forces said Tuesday they had retaken the Al-Yatmah area in the northern province of Al-Jawf, while clashes continued on other fronts, including in western Yemen, where fierce fighting has raged as the Houthis push toward government-held areas near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.

IANS