Smoke billows from the site of Saudi-led air strikes in Sanaa, Yemen, March 7, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen destroyed on Wednesday a “hostile aerial target”, belonging to the Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen’s Marib city, Saudi state TV reported.

The Saudi state news agency showed a video on Twitter saying the coalition “destroyed an enemy air defense system type SAM-6, that belongs to the Houthis,” the agency cited the coalition.

It also confirmed its support to the operations by the Yemeni national army and the tribes in Marib to advance and protect civilians.

The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous areas and have been battling the coalition since it intervened in Yemen’s civil war in March 2015, have recently pushed towards the gas-rich region of Marib, aiming to take the government’s last stronghold in the north of Yemen.

The Iran-aligned group has also stepped up cross-border missile and drone attacks into Saudi Arabia.

The escalation comes as the United States and the United Nations increase diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire to pave the way for a resumption of U.N.-sponsored political talks to end the conflict, which is largely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Earlier on Wednesday, two residents told Reuters that a missile strike targeted a military base outskirts of Marib, adding that sounds of ambulances could be heard rushing to the place.

The base includes the building of the ministry of defense and is located near residential areas, they said.