Explosions rock Sanaa as Saudi airstrikes target Houthi positions

Loud explosions rocked Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa late Saturday as the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported renewed Saudi airstrikes on the city.

A Sanaa resident, speaking to Xinhua on condition of anonymity, said warplanes could be heard overhead as powerful blasts echoed across the capital, rattling windows and shaking buildings.

"The blasts were so powerful that the ground shook beneath us," the resident said. "It felt like an earthquake. Our windows were rattling, and the children woke up terrified."

Residents believe that the airstrikes targeted Houthi positions. Casualties were not immediately known.

Earlier on Saturday, the Houthis said they had launched ballistic missiles and drones at an Aramco facility in the Saudi capital Riyadh in retaliation for what they described as intensified Saudi strikes on Yemen. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said that 60 air and missile strikes had hit Yemen over the previous 24 hours.

After the exchange of strikes between Houthis and Saudi Arabia, Yemen's armed forces said ‌early on Sunday it was conducting strikes against the Houthis in the capital Sanaa and the group's ​stronghold Saada.

A spokesperson for Yemen's armed forces, ​which are aligned with the internationally recognized government, said forces were targeting what he described ​as "vital targets," without providing further details.

(With input from agencies)