DUBAI (REUTERS) - The Saudi-led coalition launched a military operation north of Yemen's port city of Hodeidah against what it described as "legitimate military targets", state-run Ekhbariya TV reported on Friday (Sept 20).

The coalition said it had destroyed four sites used in assembling remote-controlled boats and sea mines to help protect the freedom of maritime navigation.

It had earlier called on civilians to stay away from the targeted sites and asserted that the military operation was conducted in a way that follows international humanitarian law and that it took the necessary precautionary measures.

The Western-backed, Sunni Muslim coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 against the Yemen Iran-aligned Houthi group after they ousted the internationally recognised government in Sanaa in late 2014.