Iran-aligned Houthi rebels attacked a military training camp in the Yemeni city of Marib on Saturday night, killing at least 90 military personnel and injuring at least 130, Saudi state television reported.
Al Ekhbariya quoted sources as saying the attack was carried out with ballistic missiles and drones.
Yemeni officials quoted by The Associated Press said they expected the death toll to rise as burn victims were rushed to hospitals. Marib lies about 115 kilometers (70 miles) east of the capital, Sanaa.
The attack on the military training camp followed an ongoing barrage of assaults by Saudi-backed government forces on rebel targets east of Sanaa, noted AP. Those attacks killed at least 22 people on both sides, according to officials.
The combat signaled a major escalation in the capital’s eastern suburbs after months of relative quiet.
A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen on March 26, 2015 to try to restore the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after the Houthis and their allies took over large parts of the country, including the capital Sanaa.
It has long been believed that Iran is planning to use the Houthis to take over Yemen and seize the key strategic port of Aden, which controls the entrance to the Red Sea and ultimately to the Israeli resort city of Eilat.
Iran denies it is backing the Houthis and has also denied Saudi Arabian accusations that Tehran provided the Houthi rebels in Yemen with ballistic capabilities.