Four provinces in Yemen came under attack by the Saudi-led military coalition’s warplanes, after the coalition claimed it had intercepted and destroyed a military drone belonging to the Yemeni army.
Early on Thursday, Saudi state TV reported that the war coalition conducted a wide operation against Sana’a, Dhamar, Sa’ada, and al-Jawf provinces in response to what it called threats of drone and ballistic missile raids.
It claimed that workshops and warehouses for ballistic missiles, drones, and communications systems were destroyed during the operation.
Earlier, the coalition, which also includes Saudi Arabia’s regional allies, said it destroyed an explosive-laden drone targeting the kingdom’s Abha international airport on Wednesday.
It also claimed there had been an escalation in the Yemeni Ansarullah movement’s hostile attempts to target civilians in airports and cities, and that it was taking operational measures to deal with cross-border attacks.
Enjoying the backing of key Western powers, Saudi Arabia has been leading the military campaign against Yemen since March 2015 to reinstall the former Riyadh-backed regime of Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.
However, Riyadh has failed to achieve its interventionist goal six years after launching the war and blockade against Yemen that have left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead and spread famine and infectious diseases there.
In recent months, the Saudi-led coalition, which is called “the US-Saudi aggression coalition” by the Yemeni government, has ramped up its attacks against densely-populated areas across Yemen.
Observers say the uptick in attacks comes due to advances made by the Ansarullah movement in Ma’rib province and other key areas that are being liberated from the control of Saudi mercenaries.
The kingdom is also being targeted by the Yemeni army and its allied popular forces continuously, with the Sana’a government saying that it will keep hitting targets deep inside Saudi Arabia as long as the war and siege continue.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni army has in recent days continued to liberate vast areas in southern Yemen.
Backed by local tribes in Ma’rib province, the forces have advanced on several fronts toward Ma’rib city during fierce clashes with the Saudi-backed militants.
According to the Yemeni media, the areas of al-Falaj, al-Rawdha, Ma’rib Dam, and al-Balq Mountains have been the scene of the most intense clashes in recent hours, with Yemeni forces being able to liberate strategic points in those areas.
