RIYADH: Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Assiri, Saudi-led coalition’s spokesman and Saudi Defense Ministry adviser and consultant, said that Saudi forces and the coalition don’t have any territorial ambitions in Yemen.

“The Saudi-led coalition’s incursions into Yemeni territories is a tactical move. The coalition has no ambitions as far as Yemeni territories are concerned,” Al-Assiri told Al Jazeera.

He said the move is to prevent the Houthi militias and their cohorts from consolidating their forces in their continued support for former President Ali Abdullah Saleh who still has followers among Yemeni troops.

Al-Assiri added that the move is not also new as the Saudi-led coalition had been doing this since the start of the conflict early this year.

Stressing the coalition’s success in its campaign against the Yemeni rebels, Al-Assiri said that the Houthis and their cohorts were now facing difficulties as they had suffered heavy losses in various fronts.

He said that they had found the need to boost the morale of their cohorts by targeting Saudi border posts. Such attacks have increased in frequency.

He added that the attacks have caused losses to Saudi troops and that because of this the Houthis won’t achieve moral victory and the praise of God.

On future operations, he said: “It’s difficult to comment on what would be done but we emphasize that the leadership and the coalition forces will take all necessary measures to prevent the Houthis from continuing their senseless acts.”

He also noted that the military operation of the coalition is proceeding according to plan, and without haste, from the south to the north.

Al-Assiri stressed the necessity of eliminating the sources of fire by bombing which threaten the lives and citizens of Taiz before moving on to the next phase.