ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Yemen's army said early Saturday that it had launched an operation against Iran-backed Houthi forces in response to deadly attacks in the provinces of Marib and Hadramaut.

Yemeni army spokesperson Majed Al-Nazili said their forces conducted a military operation “in several areas alongside the lines of contact” with the Houthis in response to “continuous terrorist transgressions that the Houthi militias have conducted in the provinces of Marib and Hadramaut,” without providing further details about the operations or when they took place.

Houthi attacks in Yemen's Marib province killed at least 10 people and injured 12 others on Friday as the rebels escalated strikes on the oil-rich region, a day after launching their deadliest attack in years.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement that the group attacked Saudi-backed forces, depots, vehicles and military equipment at Sahn al-Jinn camp in Yemen's Marib, which is held by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, “with a large number of missiles and drones.”

The exchanges mark a sharp escalation between the Houthis and forces of Yemen's internationally recognized government after years in which large-scale fighting between the two sides had largely subsided.

Yemeni Health Minister Qasim Buhaibeh said in a Friday post on X that Houthi attacks targeted “displacement camps in the city of Marib, resulting, according to an initial toll, in the deaths of two civilians and injuries of varying severity to 14 others.”

A Yemeni military source told AFP that the attacks in Marib killed eight members of government forces and wounded 12 others.

The Houthis on Thursday said they had conducted a "large-scale" attack on Saudi Arabian forces in Yemen following an alleged Saudi military buildup, asserting that "hundreds" were killed or wounded in the strikes. AFP cited a military source as saying at least 58 Yemeni troops had been killed

In 2015, Saudi Arabia led a military coalition that intervened in Yemen to support the government in quashing a Houthi uprising, giving rise to a lengthy civil war that saw Riyadh come under stark international criticism for alleged war crimes and indiscriminate bombardment.

Since that juncture, the forces of the official Yemeni government have cooperated closely with Saudi troops, with whom they share a presence at numerous military bases across Yemen.

The Shiite militant group imposed a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on July 22, announcing on Wednesday that eight Saudi oil tankers were targeted in the Red and Arabian Seas since that point.

The blockade, which came after the Houthis accused Riyadh of bombing Sanaa International Airport and of perpetuating an embargo of Houthi-controlled territory, has threatened Saudi oil exports, hampering transit along its western coast and adding to the pressure imposed by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz.