Agencies | Riyad:
The Saudi-led military coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Monday it had carried out strikes targeting missile infrastructure, weapons depots and supply routes used by the armed group, as the Houthis claimed fresh attacks on Saudi Arabia and military positions inside Yemen.
Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the operation destroyed four ballistic missile launchers and five tunnels used by the Houthis to store missiles. In a post on X, he also reported a strike on a missile depot, saying the operation aimed to disrupt Houthi supply lines between areas under their control.
According to al-Maliki, the strikes also targeted Houthi fortifications, gatherings of fighters and military equipment along front lines inside Yemen.
The latest escalation comes amid intensifying hostilities between the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, and forces supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government, backed by Saudi Arabia.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed on Monday that the group had targeted Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile, alleging that it struck its intended target.
Al-Maliki, however, said Saudi air defences had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched towards Riyadh.
Saree also claimed that Houthi drones had targeted oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia. In a separate statement, he announced further ballistic missile attacks on what he described as enemy forces and weapons depots in Yemen’s Aden and Lahij governorates, including positions in the Salah al-Din and al-Wahat areas.
The latest exchanges follow a series of Houthi attacks on Saudi airports and other infrastructure. Earlier this month, an attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport reportedly killed 13 people and injured more than 300, making it the deadliest attack on the kingdom in more than a decade, according to reports.
The incident led to a temporary closure of the airport, disrupted travel and forced the postponement of Saudi Arabia’s flagship investment conference until 2027. Flights resumed on Sunday, although the Houthis subsequently warned travellers against using the facility, describing it as a “military target”.
Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency reported that two people were injured in the country’s south by falling debris following missile interceptions on Sunday. Several buildings and vehicles were also damaged.
The Saudi-led coalition said its air defences had intercepted at least 10 ballistic missiles. Images released by the Saudi Press Agency showed damage to buildings, including shattered windows and a partially destroyed upper facade.
Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss regional security and air defence cooperation. Mitsotakis responded favourably to a Saudi request to keep a Greek-deployed US-made Patriot missile defence system in the kingdom, his office said.
The system, deployed by Greece in 2021, protects energy infrastructure in Yanbu on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.
The latest violence marks a sharp deterioration in Yemen’s conflict, which began escalating again this summer after the Houthis announced a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia. Riyadh intervened in the war in 2015 to support Yemen’s internationally recognised government after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.
A truce agreed in 2022 had halted much of the fighting, but renewed offensives and attacks on strategic infrastructure have intensified the conflict.
Yemen’s government forces have also launched a counteroffensive, dubbed “Operation Yemen Dawn”, aimed at recapturing territory held by the Houthis.
The renewed fighting has heightened concerns over the security of energy facilities, airports and maritime routes across the region, while humanitarian agencies continue to warn about the worsening situation in Yemen.
