Iran-backed Houthi rebels vow to retaliate against Saudi Arabia after they accuse the kingdom of targeting civilian infrastructure, as the Middle East war widens across the region.
Riyadh struck Houthi military targets in Hodeida, with rebel media reporting two wounded after the Yemeni group announced a maritime blockade of the top oil producer and hit its ships.
The flare-up marks a new front of the war that has engulfed the region following US-Israeli strikes on Tehran in February, and comes on top of Iran’s parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Riyadh’s only other maritime route.
“The Saudi enemy’s targeting of civilian facilities in Hodeida and Kamaran island constitutes a dangerous escalation,” the Houthis’ Ansarollah media posts on Telegram.
“We affirm that these recent crimes will not go unanswered.”
A Yemeni security source tells AFP a naval base in the port city of Hodeida and a military camp on Kamaran island were among the Saudi targets.
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