Yemen’s armed forces and allied Popular Committees fighters have conducted a retaliatory drone strike on King Khalid Airbase in southwestern Saudi Arabia.      

A Qasef-2K drone was used in the retaliation that targeted the airbase near the city of Khamis Mushait at dawn Monday, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree said.

The strike was accurate and hit its target “successfully,” he added.

Saree stressed that the attack is as part of the “legitimate” response to the Saudi aggression on his country, vowing to conduct more “painful” strikes against the kingdom until Riyadh stops its war on Yemen and lifts its siege on the Yemeni nation.

The airbase was targeted in a similar drone strike on Sunday. 

Saudi Arabia, backed by the U.S. and other regional allies, launched a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s government back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement.

Yemeni armed forces and allied Popular Committees have, however, gone from strength to strength against the Saudi-led invaders, and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.

The Saudi-led military aggression has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead, and displaced millions of people. It has also destroyed Yemen's infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases across the country.

Yemen’s al-Masirah television network reported that Saudi fighter jets conducted 19 airstrikes on the district of Sirwah in the strategic province of Ma’rib and another two on the province’s Madghal district on Sunday, amid fierce battles between Yemeni forces and Saudi-backed militants.

According to Press TV, since February, the Yemeni forces have been pushing to liberate Ma’rib, the last northern stronghold of Saudi-backed militants and the capital of an oil-rich region.

Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen television network reported on Sunday that battles had intensified between pro-Hadi militants and Yemeni forces at the western entrance of Ma’rib.

According to al-Mayadeen, the Yemeni forces managed to make progress in the vicinity of al-Tala al-Hamra as they took control of the strategic area of al-Tabbah al-Baydaa, which overlooks all the western frontlines.

The Yemeni troops also finished the liberation operation in al-Mashjah area, and advanced towards the remaining military positions in the valley of al-Mashgah Mountain, al-Mayadeen said.

Pro-Hadi militants have confirmed that Abdullah al-Haderi, the head of pro-Hadi military justice department, was killed in the al-Mashjah battles.