Arab coalition strikes sites in Yemen capital Sanaa

The Arab military alliance in Yemen said on Tuesday it had destroyed a ballistic missile launch site in overnight air strikes in the Iran-backed Houthi militia-controlled capital Sanaa, where residents reported big explosions.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In a statement reported by the Saudi state news agency (SPA) on Twitter, the coalition said air strikes had been conducted against “legitimate military targets” in Sanaa.

It described the ballistic missile sites as “secret”, and said one of “high-value” had been destroyed.

The coalition said it had taken measures to spare civilians any collateral damage, adding that “the secret positions” had used hospitals, organizations and civilians as human shields.

The coalition asked civilians not to gather around or approach the positions that had been attacked.

Residents told Reuters the explosions had rocked the northern neighborhoods of the city, and said two military sites had been attacked.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia using drones and missiles since the Arab coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the movement ousted the internationally-recognized government from the capital.

The Houthis said on Saturday they had fired 14 drones at several Saudi cities, including at Saudi Aramco facilities in Jeddah.

The conflict is widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Houthis are pressing an offensive in Marib, the internationally-recognized government's last northern stronghold, as well as in other areas in Yemen.