Update – Saudi-Led Fighter Jets Stage Fresh Anti-Houthi Strikes

Saudi-led warplanes staged fresh airstrikes Friday on sites held by the Shiite Houthi militant group in Yemen, sources from the group have said.



Warplanes struck several military sites in capital Sanaa as well as northern Saada and eastern Maarib provinces, sources from the Houthi group as well as local tribesmen told The Anadolu Agency.



Houthi sources said Saudi-led fighter jets have raided Saada's Dahyan city, known to be the Houthis' stronghold in Saada.



Eyewitnesses in Sanaa, for their part, said that the airstrikes targeted several military bases which had been captured by Houthis, including a training camp for the Yemeni Special Forces in western Sanaa.



The warplanes have also stuck a Houthi-held military base in the eastern Maarib province, according to tribal source who requested anonymity.



None of the sources could verify whether the strikes had resulted in casualties or significant material damage.



Earlier on Friday, a Yemeni military official told AA that Saudi-led warplanes have destroyed a rocket-launching site in Maarib.



He went on to say that operations at the key Safer oil field, located near the destroyed facility, have been suspended temporarily and that production would resume later on Friday.



Several Arab states have joined a Saudi-led offensive which kicked off late Wednesday with a string of airstrikes against the positions of the Shiite Houthi militant group in Yemen, including some in capital Sanaa.



Saudi Arabia said the strikes were in response to calls by Yemeni President ABD Rabbuh Mansour Hadi for military intervention to "save the people from the Houthi militias."



Fractious Yemen has been in turmoil since last September, when the Shiite militants overran capital Sanaa, from which they have sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country as well.



Some Gulf countries accuse Shiite Iran of supporting the Houthi insurgency.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Sana