SANAA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group said Sunday that 28 airstrikes had hit three provinces over the previous 24 hours, amid continued ground battles between the group and the Yemeni government forces across several fronts.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement that F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets operating from the Saudi air bases of Khamis Mushait and Taif carried out the strikes in Yemen's southwestern Taiz, northeastern oil-rich Marib, and northern Al-Jawf provinces.
Sarea put the cumulative number of airstrikes since the latest escalation began at 760.
Saudi Arabia has not immediately commented on the latest figures.
Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported earlier in the day that an airstrike struck a telecommunications tower in Al-Jawf, while areas of northern Saada province along the Saudi border came under artillery fire.
The aerial operations came as government forces and Houthi fighters remained locked in fighting in southwestern Yemen, where control of frontline positions has shifted repeatedly in recent days.
A government military source told Xinhua Sunday that government forces had retaken several positions in western Taiz, though the broader front lines remained largely unchanged amid fierce fighting.
The Houthis have recently made major gains along Yemen's southwestern Red Sea coast, seizing Taiz province's port city of Mocha on Sept. 10, then pushing south to capture Dhubab and take Mayyun Island in the heart of Bab al-Mandab Strait on Sept. 11.
Government forces are now trying to block further Houthi advances along the mountainous approaches to the strategic waterway.
Yemen's conflict began in late 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government. The rapid Houthi advance marked the sharpest escalation since a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities. ■
