Daijiworld Media Network - Sanaa
Sanaa, Aug 16: Yemen's Houthi group launched an attack on the government-held city of Marib in the oil-rich Marib province, pro-government media reported.
The state-run Saba TV channel, based in Marib, said the Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at neighbourhoods in the city on Saturday evening. There was no immediate information on casualties or damage.
Residents contacted by Xinhua news agency confirmed hearing several loud explosions across the city around the time of the reported missile strikes. The Houthis have not commented on the reported attack.
The group has intensified missile and drone attacks in recent weeks against government-held areas in Yemen and targets in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, a key backer of the Yemeni government.
The Houthis announced a maritime ban on Saudi shipping on July 20 and have since claimed attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea as well as energy facilities inside Saudi Arabia.
Yemen has been embroiled in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized large parts of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the Yemeni government.
A UN-brokered truce that began in April 2022 expired six months later without a formal extension. However, a fragile de facto ceasefire largely held until the recent escalation.
Earlier on Saturday, the Houthis claimed that Saudi forces carried out "artillery and missile strikes" on areas along Yemen's northern border in Saada province, as tensions between the two sides continued to rise.
The group's affiliated Al-Masirah TV reported that Saudi artillery fire targeted Al-Dhaher district in Saada, a Houthi stronghold bordering Saudi Arabia.
Separately, heavy missile fire struck the Bani Sayyah area in Saada's border district of Razih, damaging farmland belonging to local residents, the channel reported.
No casualties were immediately reported, and Saudi authorities did not issue an immediate comment.
The reported shelling came a day after the Houthis claimed a drone attack on a facility belonging to Saudi state oil company Aramco in the southern region of Najran. The group said the strike was retaliation for an alleged incursion by Saudi warplanes into Saada's airspace.