SANAA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group said Friday evening that "Saudi" airstrikes targeted the group-controlled Red Sea port city of Hodeidah and Kamaran Island, as local residents reported powerful explosions.
Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV said what it described as "Saudi aggression" targeted telecommunications facilities in Hodeidah and Kamaran Island, and left one woman injured.
It later quoted a source in the group's defense authorities as saying Houthi air defenses had "forced several Saudi military aircraft to leave."
Saudi authorities did not immediately comment.
Residents in Hodeidah told Xinhua that explosions rocked different parts of the city.
"More than five explosions came from the surroundings of Hodeidah port," a resident said, adding that plumes of smoke were seen rising from the area.
The reported airstrikes came hours after Saudi media, citing a transport authority source, said the Saudi oil tanker NCC MASA had sustained minor hull damage in an attack in the Red Sea but continued its voyage.
The Houthi group on Monday announced a maritime ban on Saudi shipping. The group said Thursday it targeted two Saudi oil tankers violating the ban in the Red Sea. The Saudi Press Agency later confirmed that a Saudi company-owned tanker was hit and caught fire.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government. ■
