SANAA, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Saudi-led coalition strikes hit Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa on Tuesday, triggering powerful explosions, local residents said, shortly after the coalition ordered civilians to evacuate a designated site in the city.
Residents told Xinhua loud explosions were heard across Sanaa, causing panic in parts of the city and long queues at fuel stations over fears of supply disruptions.
Houthi-run al-Masirah TV said the strikes targeted a Yemen Petroleum Company facility in the Al-Sabaha area, west of Sanaa. No casualties were immediately reported.
The channel, citing a company source, said the facility was empty of petroleum products at the time of the strikes and had "no military value." The claim could not be independently verified.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement on social media platform X that the group was "currently confronting Saudi combat formations" targeting Sanaa, without elaborating.
The strikes came shortly after the Saudi-led coalition urged civilians to evacuate the Yemen Petroleum Company site and the nearby Al-Sabah Central Station.
Before the strikes, the Houthis warned that any attack on Sanaa would bring retaliation against Riyadh.
The group urged experts, engineers and workers to avoid Saudi oil facilities that could be targeted, and renewed warnings to airlines, passengers and airport employees over the use of designated Saudi airports and airspace.
The Houthis named King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Aramco's Riyadh refinery and an Aramco facility in the eastern city of Dammam as potential targets.
The exchange of strikes marked a further escalation, with the Houthis intensifying missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia and Saudi forces stepping up strikes on Houthi-held areas in Yemen.
A Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday killed more than a dozen people and injured over 300, according to Saudi authorities. ■
