SANAA, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels on Friday claimed responsibility for missile attacks toward Saudi Arabia, saying they targeted Aramco's facilities in Yanbu city west of the kingdom and other sensitive targets.
"The operation came in retaliatory response to the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes, including the crime in al-Jawf province," the group's al-Masirah TV reported, citing a statement by the Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea as saying.
"We promise to launch more attacks if the kingdom continues its aggression and blockade against our country," read the statement.
Earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed several ballistic missiles launched by Iran-allied Houthi militias in Yemen toward Saudi cities.
"Saudi Arabia's Royal Air Defense Forces intercepted several ballistic missiles launched by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia," Turki al-Malki, spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition said in a statement.
"The missiles were fired from the Yemeni capital Sanaa toward Saudi cities," al-Malki said, without providing more details.
Last September, the Houthis said they would halt cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia if the Saudi-led coalition halts airstrikes on Yemen.
This offer came after a deadly assault claimed by the Houthis on Aramco's facilities that temporarily cut half of the Saudi oil output. The United States and Saudi Arabia blamed Iran for the attack while Tehran denied any involvement.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Houthi rebels seized much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
