SANAA, March 26 -- Warplanes raided military camps belonging to the Shiite Houthi group in Yemen's capital Sanaa on Thursday, a defense ministry official told Xinhua.

The warplanes struck the al-Dailamy air force base in northern Sanaa and destroyed the runway, which is adjacent to the civil airport, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The strikes also targeted weapons depots at a missile base in the southern part of Sanaa, which is controlled by the army loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Intensified sounds of anti-aircraft artillery could be heard across the capital city.

Mohammed al-Boukhaiti, a member of Houthi political bureau, told Xinhua that "Saudi aggression is a declaration of war against the Yemeni people and we will fight them."

He said Saudi Arabia began the war which would lead the whole region into an all-out war and the Houthi group was obliged to deal with this "aggression."

The General People's Congress, the former ruling party led by Saleh, said in a statement posted on its website that "the Saudi air aggression violates the Charter of the United Nations and the agreement signed by the Saudi and Yemeni governments."

It said the Saudi airstrikes targeted the Sanaa airport and al-Dailami air force base, causing huge explosions that shocked the capital Sanaa as anti-aircraft artillery responded to confront the Saudi aggression.

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and its main ally Saudi Arabia have accused Saleh of supporting the Houthi group to overrun the country.