Sanaa, Aug 7 (IANS) Missile and drone strikes hit government military sites in Yemen’s central Marib province Friday, a Yemeni military source and local residents said, a day after Houthi attacks reportedly killed “dozens” of government troops in Marib and neighbouring Hadramout.
A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Houthi forces targeted several government military camps, including the headquarters of the Third Military Region in Marib city.
Residents said a series of explosions shook the city during the attacks. Local media also reported missile and drone strikes on military positions in and around Marib, Xinhua News Agency reported.
There was no immediate information on casualties or damage caused by the strikes in Marib city. The Houthis have not commented on the reported attacks.
Yemen’s Houthi group claimed Thursday that it has carried out a “large-scale” military operation using ballistic missiles and drones against government forces in the eastern provinces of Marib and Hadramout, claiming “hundreds of casualties.”
In a televised statement broadcast by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the attacks hit military positions in Ruwaik in Marib and in Thaniyah and Al-Abr in neighbouring Hadramout, including military camps and troop gatherings belonging to the 1st and 3rd divisions of the newly-formed, Saudi-backed Yemeni emergency forces.
He claimed that “hundreds” of government personnel were killed or wounded and that military vehicles, weapons depots and other facilities were destroyed or set ablaze. He also said military bases in Al-Wadi’ah, an area on the Yemen-Saudi Arabia border, were targeted.
Sarea said the operation was carried out after the Houthis detected what he described as large-scale Saudi military buildups that had reached their “final stages,” accusing Riyadh of preparing for large ground military operations against Houthi-controlled areas.
He warned Saudi Arabia against further escalation, saying Houthi forces are “fully prepared to confront any escalation” and will continue what the group calls its “blockade-for-blockade” strategy until restrictions it accuses Riyadh of imposing on Houthi-controlled areas are lifted.
A military official told Xinhua that at least 35 Yemeni government soldiers were killed and scores of others wounded in drone attacks on military positions across Marib and Hadramout.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the attacks struck military barracks and positions at several locations across the two provinces, including bases of the Yemeni emergency forces.
–IANS
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