ADEN, Yemen, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Saudi-led coalition carried out 10 airstrikes against positions controlled by the Shiite Houthi group in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Sunday, residents told Xinhua.
According to residents based in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, "a series of airstrikes by Saudi-led warplanes hit military sites manned by Houthis in different areas of the city, causing frightening loud explosions."
The Saudi-led warplanes continued swooping low and hovering over Sanaa airspace for hours, creating panic among students in schools, the residents said.
A military official, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Xinhua by phone saying that "more than ten airstrikes apparently struck arms caches belonging to Houthis in the mountain of Oyban."
Houthi-run media outlets confirmed that several Saudi-led airstrikes pounded Sanaa, leading to broadcasting interruption of local radio station after targeting its aerials.
There were no immediate reports of casualties caused by the Saudi-led airstrikes against Houthis in Sanaa.
Meanwhile, large protests were organized in Sanaa against Houthi authorities as a result of skyrocketing prices of basic commodities and extreme shortage of gas.
"Cooking gas is unavailable in Sanaa and people stand in long queues for days not knowing when it'll arrive," one of the protesters said.
The Saudi-led coalition has intensified military air campaign against Houthi positions in and around the Houthi rebels-held capital Sanaa and other northern provinces since Houthis killed former President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Dec. 4.
The coalition has intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March 2015 to roll back Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels, and backed internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi whom Houthis forced into exile in Saudi Arabia.
The war has killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children, displaced 3 million, and triggered the world's most humanitarian catastrophe.
Tensions have escalated in Sanaa and other northern provinces after Houthis killed their top ally strongman Saleh after he changed alliance and backed the anti-Houthi coalition.
