The Saudi-led coalition has vowed a decisive response to a series of attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants that injured dozens of civilians and set fires at energy facilities in Yemen.
Reported Houthi attacks on several Saudi towns and cities mark a dramatic escalation in the conflict, which flared up again in July with missile attacks on Saudi oil facilities and ships in an escalation of the Middle East war.
Saudi-led coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said at least 73 people were injured, including women and children, and called the attack “dangerous” and “senseless.”
Al-Maliki said Houthi forces targeted “civilian and economic locations” in the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran in western Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Ministry of Energy said the attack caused fires in several locations in the southern region and temporarily halted some operations.
The Saudi-led Joint Command, which has fought the Houthis in Yemen’s years-long civil war, “resolutely stands against (the Houthis’) hostile approach,” al-Maliki said.
“Saudi Arabia affirms its legitimate right to take all necessary measures to protect its sovereignty,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry told X news agency.
The Houthi attack drew immediate condemnation from Saudi Arabia’s regional allies. Egypt described this as a “dangerous escalation” and Jordan said the barrage was a “blatant violation of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty”.
Despite US efforts to avoid war with Iran, Saudi Arabia faced a missile attack by the Houthis in July, ending a fragile four-year ceasefire between the rebels and Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis have also declared a blockade of Saudi ships that use the Red Sea, a key outlet for Saudi oil, as Iran seeks to block the Strait of Hormuz. It is also targeting refineries on the Red Sea coast operated by Saudi oil giant Aramco.
In addition to Houthi drone and missile attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, ground fighting has broken out in Yemen between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces in recent weeks.
The Houthis used ballistic missiles and drones in the attack on the Moka port, which is controlled by government forces.
The seven-year conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis ended with a ceasefire in 2022, but the group has since called for an end to Saudi attempts to isolate large swathes of northern Yemen it controls through travel and economic blockades.
The blockade has perpetuated a humanitarian crisis in large parts of Yemen. Nasr al-Din Amer, a senior Houthi official, told CNN in July that the Saudi measures are “enough to force us to act even more decisively than we have done so far. We don’t need another agenda.”
The latest attacks by the Houthis suggest that the group is prepared to escalate the conflict, despite the large mobilization of Saudi forces near the border with parts of Yemen that the militants control.
Amer, a member of the Houthi politburo, said on Telegram on Tuesday that “the thorough response that is currently underway goes far beyond what is being spread on social media and is much broader.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
