SANAA, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Fighting intensified across Yemen on Sunday, with the Houthi group reporting a new wave of Saudi air and missile strikes across several Houthi-held and contested areas over the past 24 hours, while the government forces pressed ahead with a major offensive against the group.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement posted on social media platform X that a total of 110 strikes targeted areas in Sanaa and the provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz and Marib, leaving more than 30 people killed or injured.
He claimed that civilian sites were targeted and that most of those killed or wounded were women and children.
The Houthi spokesperson further claimed that Saudi forces had carried out a total of 2,652 air and missile strikes against Yemen since the latest escalation began.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia or the Saudi-led coalition on the Houthi claims.
Majid Al-Nuzaili, spokesperson for the government forces, said in a statement posted on X that their strikes targeted Houthi troop gatherings, military vehicles, fortified positions and weapons sites.
The government forces had carried out 1,326 strikes against Houthi targets across several battlefronts over the past 24 hours, as they pressed ahead with a major offensive against the group, said Al-Nuzaili.
Government troops and allied fighters captured several positions in the southwestern province of Taiz and seized heavy weapons and other military equipment, while strikes targeted Houthi reinforcements and defensive positions, according to Al-Nuzaili.
The spokesperson claimed that "about 370 Houthi fighters had been neutralized" and dozens of military vehicles destroyed during the operations.
The figures could not be independently verified, and the Houthis have not immediately commented on the claims.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of the country's north. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government. ■
