The Houthis based in Yemen announced on Saturday that they have attacked sensitive targets in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and oil facilities in the port of Yanbu. This announcement came hours after firefighters managed to extinguish a fire in a fuel depot near King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.
Details of the Attacks
Residents of the area reported hearing explosions nearby, while Saudi officials had warned the previous night about a "hostile aerial threat." The Saudi government has not yet confirmed the explosions. Yahya Saree, the military spokesman for the Houthis, stated that the group carried out two successful military operations using a large number of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones.
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Reasons for the Attacks and Tensions
Saree continued: "The first attack targeted sensitive sites in Riyadh, and the second attack targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu." He described these attacks as retaliation for recent Saudi strikes on the Yemeni capital, Sana'a. This new violence occurred just days after Riyadh accused the Houthis of targeting the holy city of Mecca, an accusation that the group denied and described as an "old lie."
Reporters from the AFP news agency also reported hearing two explosions before the Saudi Civil Defense Agency canceled a warning that described the situation as "under a hostile aerial threat" half an hour later. The warning message advised residents of Riyadh to stay indoors.
Consequences of the Attacks
Reuters news agency published videos and images of a large black plume of smoke rising from an area near a road leading to the airport following these attacks. Saudi officials also reported intercepting Houthi missiles and drones as they entered the country.
The flight tracking website FlightRadar24 reported "serious problems" at King Khalid International Airport and listed it among its maximum disruptions. These developments come amid rising tensions between the Houthis and the internationally recognized Yemeni government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia.
The 2022 ceasefire between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia collapsed in July due to allowing an Iranian aircraft to land in Sana'a, which violated Saudi control over Yemeni airspace. Following this escalation of tensions, the Houthis announced that they had established a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia.
Since the beginning of their recent attacks to control coastal areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, which is a vital global shipping route, the Houthis have reported multiple attacks by Saudi Arabia.
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