Saudi airstrikes target rebel bases in Yemen

SANAA, Yemen -- Saudi Arabia bombed key military installations Thursday in Yemen after announcing a broad regional coalition to oust Shiite rebels that forced the country's embattled president to flee. Some of the strikes hit positions in the country's capital, Sanaa, and flattened homes near the international airport.

The airstrikes, which had the support of nine other countries, drew a strong reaction from Iran, which called the operation an "invasion" and a "dangerous step" that will worsen the crisis in the country.

Iran "condemns the airstrikes against Yemen this morning that left some innocent Yemenis wounded and dead and considers this action a dangerous step," foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said in a statement. She said military action would complicate and worsen the crisis in Yemen.

"This invasion will bear no result but expansion of terrorism and extremism throughout the whole region," she said.

The Saudi airstrikes came hours after President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, a close U.S. ally, fled Yemen after rebels pushed toward the southern port city of Aden where he had taken refuge.

The back-and-forth between the regional heavyweights was threatening to turn Yemen into a proxy battle between the Middle East's Sunni powers and Shiite-led Iran.