SANAA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group said Saturday it had carried out six military operations using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones against oil facilities, an international airport and military positions in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, claiming casualties among Saudi troops.
In a televised statement broadcast by the group's al-Masirah TV, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the first operation targeted King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh, along with oil storage tanks and a distillation tower belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco.
Sarea said two other operations targeted Aramco facilities in Khurais, east of Riyadh, and a pumping station in the Al Duwadimi area of central Saudi Arabia. He described the three operations as successful, without providing details of any damage.
A fourth operation targeted a Saudi troops camp in Najran, southern Saudi Arabia, the spokesman said, claiming numerous casualties.
He added that two further operations targeted gatherings of Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces in Yemen's northern Al-Jawf province and east of the Raghwan and Medghal districts in the country's northeastern, oil-rich Marib province, claiming dozens of soldiers were killed or wounded.
Sarea said the operations were in retaliation for deadly Saudi airstrikes on a crowded market in Yemen's southwestern Taiz province on Friday that killed at least 30 people, and on residential areas in Bani Hushaysh district, Sanaa province, earlier Saturday that killed at least 22.
The Houthi announcement comes amid intensified Saudi-led coalition airstrikes across Yemen and ground fighting between the Houthis and government forces, alongside repeated Houthi claims of missile and drone attacks against Saudi airports, oil installations and military facilities.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government. ■
