ADEN, Yemen, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Warships of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition shelled several sites controlled by the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen's western port city of Hodeidah on Tuesday evening, a government official told Xinhua.
The official, who asked not to be named, said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) operating as part of the Saudi-led coalition carried out the naval bombardment and targeted Houthi-controlled sites in AlHali area of Hodeidah province.
"Missiles fired by warships precisely targeted the Houthis sites and caused casualties among their ranks," the government source said.
Hodeidah-based residents said that huge explosions heard across the city as a result of the Saudi-led naval attacks that apparently hit arms caches.
The naval bombardment comes less than a week after a large-scale anti-Houthi military campaign carried out by Yemeni government troops and regained control over key areas in Hodeidah.
Local sources of the Southern Resistance Forces based in Hodeidah told Xinhua by phone that the naval attacks are considered as part of an intensifying campaign to kick the Houthis out from the whole province of Hodeidah in the next few days.
On Monday night, tens of members of the Iran-backed Houthis were killed in air raids carried out by the Arab coalition fighter jets and in clashes with the Joint Yemeni Resistance Forces in the Red Sea coast, bringing the death toll to more than 140 of the Houthi militiamen in the past two days.
The UAE state-run news agency WAM said that "the qualitative and devastating air strikes have weakened the military capabilities amid the accelerated field progress of Yemeni Resistance Forces towards Hodeidah Airport and its strategic port."
The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Iranian-allied Houthi rebels since March 2015. More than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the war that displaced over 3 million and pushed the impoverished country into the brink of famine.
The anti-Houthi Arab coalition has sent hundreds of troops to the Yemeni western coast in preparation for the advancement into Houthi-held Hodeidah, a long-time key military target declared by the coalition.
The Saudi and Emirati backed Yemeni forces continued in making ground advancement during the battles with Houthis on Yemen's west coast near Hodeidah airport.
Hodeidah is a vital lifeline for the delivery of humanitarian supplies to the Houthi-controlled northern provinces, including the country's capital Sanaa.
