SANAA, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group on Thursday claimed it had launched a large-scale attack with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones on Saudi military positions across the southwestern border province of Jazan, saying the strikes "killed or wounded hundreds of Saudi and allied troops."
In a televised statement aired by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, the group's military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the operation targeted command and control centers, weapons depots and troop gatherings in the Al-Tuwal area of Jazan, near the border with Yemen.
Sarea said the operation involved "dozens of ballistic missiles and drones" targeting command positions of what he described as the "Sixth Emergency Military Division" in the Al-Tuwal area, along with missile launch sites and platforms at the Al-Daghareer camp and other military facilities across Jazan.
He claimed the strikes were "precise and direct, killing or wounding hundreds" of Saudi military reinforcements, including Yemeni and Sudanese personnel, as well as dozens of Saudi soldiers and officers.
The attacks also destroyed or set fire to several weapons depots, Sarea added.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia on the attack, and the casualty figures could not be independently verified.
Sarea also accused Saudi forces of intensifying missile attacks against Yemen's northern border provinces of Saada and Hajjah, claiming that more than 200 missiles had been fired from Jazan toward the two provinces.
The Houthi spokesperson said the group would continue responding to what it considers military threats and targeting "hostile movements" wherever they occur.
The claim came amid a sharp escalation in cross-border strikes. Earlier Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses intercepted six Houthi ballistic missiles targeting the Saudi cities of Taif and Yanbu, as Saudi strikes continued against Houthi-held areas across Yemen.
Coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki said the air defenses had thwarted the attacks, warning that the Houthis' "escalation and violations" would be "dealt with firmly."
The latest exchanges underscore the widening confrontation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, with both sides stepping up long-range attacks in recent weeks alongside intensified ground fighting in Yemen.
Yemen's conflict erupted 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. ■
