Saudi Arabia warns it will react ‘firmly’ to Houthi attacks

Saudi Arabia warns it will react “firmly” to Yemen’s Houthis, after a series of attacks carried out by the pro-Iranian rebels using ballistic missiles and drones wounded 13 civilians in the country’s south.

The Houthis have been engaged in renewed fighting with Saudi-backed government forces since Yemen’s civil war reignited in July, when the group declared a maritime blockade on Riyadh and began targeting its ships in the Red Sea.

The group seized control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait last week, which has become vital as the wider US-Iran war chokes the Strait of Hormuz, in a significant blow to Yemeni government forces.

It has also targeted the oil infrastructure of Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading crude exporter, pushing oil prices above the $100 threshold.

A Houthi strike in western Yemen yesterday killed eight soldiers from government forces, according to two military sources. The Houthis claimed a new “large-scale” attack using “dozens of ballistic missiles and drones” against the King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, in southern Saudi Arabia.

The Riyadh-led coalition confirms there were missile and drone attacks on Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, reporting 13 wounded.

Riyadh responded with more than 50 strikes, as it had the day before, according to the Houthis.

The coalition says it will deal with the attacks “firmly to protect the sovereignty of the Kingdom” and would take “all necessary operational measures to deter this… hostile and extremist approach.”