Yemen’s Houthis Claim Attacks On Saudi Oil Facilities, Airports; Coalition Intercepts 2 Missiles

Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi group on Saturday claimed it had launched attacks on Saudi oil facilities and airports, as the Saudi-led coalition fighting the group said it had intercepted two missiles amid escalating clashes between the two sides.

Separately, Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said the Houthis had fired three ballistic missiles at coast guard facilities in the southern port city of Aden, opening another front in the escalating conflict linked to the Iran war, Reuters reported.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh oil refinery, crude oil pumping stations and the East-West Pipeline.

He also claimed that attacks were directed at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, an airport in Najran and an airbase in Khamis Mushait.

The Saudi-led coalition said it had destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis towards Yanbu and Taif. Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed the Houthi claims, and it remained unclear whether the reported attacks had hit their targets or been intercepted.

Houthis Fire Ballistic Missiles At Aden Coast Guard Sites

Yemen’s Interior Ministry, which is part of the internationally recognised government, said two of the Houthi missiles struck a coast guard headquarters, while the third hit a coast guard building in Aden’s Tawahi district.

Saree said Houthi forces had targeted Saudi-backed military gatherings at what he described as Al-Nasr camp and a naval military base in Aden. He claimed Saudi officers were overseeing the mobilisation at the sites.

The Saudi-led coalition had not immediately commented on that assertion.

Renewed Clashes Shatter Yemen Truce

The renewed fighting has shattered a United Nations-brokered truce agreed in 2022 that largely halted cross-border attacks between the Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government, and the Houthis, who control the capital, Sanaa.

The latest escalation has opened another front in the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Earlier on Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence issued brief alerts warning residents of potential danger in Taif and Yanbu, as well as in the holy city of Mecca and the kingdom’s second-largest city, Jeddah. About 10 minutes later, the agency said the threat had passed.

Earlier this month, the Houthis warned airlines against using Saudi airspace, exempting only the airspace over Mecca and Medina, as the group intensified its attacks on the kingdom.