SANAA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group had targeted three Saudi oil tankers over the past 48 hours, a source within the group, cited by Lebanon-based broadcaster Al Mayadeen, said on Sunday.

The source said the attacks were part of efforts to enforce the group's maritime ban on Saudi shipping.

The source claimed that no Saudi tankers have passed through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, since the blockade was imposed last Monday, alleging that "16 Saudi ships have been turned back and denied passage."

The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities or the Saudi-led coalition.

The Houthi group said Thursday it targeted two Saudi oil tankers violating its maritime ban in the Red Sea. The Saudi Press Agency later confirmed that a Saudi company-owned tanker had been hit and caught fire.

The Saudi-led coalition struck military sites in the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Friday evening. In response, the Houthis on Saturday launched missile and drone strikes on Saudi energy facilities.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government. ■