Saudi army: Yemen Houthis no longer have warplanes

A spokesman for a Saudi-led anti-Houthi coalition said Saturday that the Shia group no longer had fighter jets or communication centres as coalition warplanes pounded their targets in various areas across Yemen.

“Houthis no longer have fighter jets or communication centres,” Saudi commander Ahmed al-Asiri said.

“Saturday’s attacks in Yemen targeted command centres, arms depots and Houthi hideouts,” al-Asiri said.

He added that the Saudi-led coalition’s operations would continue with the aim of preventing the Houthis from receiving supplies or making advances on the ground.

Al-Asiri went on to note that the coalition was ready to consider the deployment of ground troops in Yemen if the situation in the country warranted this deployment.

“So far, there have been no casualties among alliance troops,” al-Asiri said.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began a military campaign, including airstrikes, against Houthi positions and forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh across Yemen.

Riyadh said the strikes were in response to calls by embattled Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi for military intervention to “save the people [of Yemen] from the Houthi militias.”

Fractious Yemen has been beset by turmoil since last September, when 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 Shia Iran of supporting Yemen’s Houthi insurgency.