Daijiworld Media Network - Riyadh

Riyadh, Oct 4: Loud explosions rocked Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa late Saturday night, with Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reporting renewed Saudi airstrikes on the city.

A Sanaa resident, speaking to Xinhua on condition of anonymity, said warplanes could be heard flying overhead as powerful blasts echoed across the capital, rattling windows and shaking buildings.

"The blasts were so powerful that the ground shook beneath us," the resident said. "It felt like an earthquake. Our windows were rattling, and the children woke up terrified."

Local residents said they believed the airstrikes targeted Houthi positions. There was no immediate information on casualties.

Earlier on Saturday, the Houthis claimed to have launched ballistic missiles and drones at an Aramco facility in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, in retaliation for what they described as intensified Saudi strikes on Yemen.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said 60 air and missile strikes had hit Yemen over the previous 24 hours, Xinhua news agency reported.

Tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia escalated after the group announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 20, followed by an increase in cross-border missile and drone attacks and airstrikes.

The confrontation widened further in September amid fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces, which are largely backed by Saudi Arabia. The Houthis captured the Red Sea port city of Mocha on September 10 and the strategically located Mayyun Island the following day.

Yemen's conflict began in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and large parts of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.