Houthi strikes on Saudi prove their growing strength

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have put their growing military capabilities on display in recent weeks, repeatedly striking Saudi Arabia’s main international airport hundreds of miles (kilometers) away and seizing territory inside Yemen near a key shipping chokepoint. 

At various times over the last decade, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Britain and Israel have carried out punishing air raids on the rebels — only to see them grow even stronger.

The Saudis have struggled to counter the latest attacks, even with far superior US-supplied arms. A senior Saudi diplomat told reporters this week that Iran was encouraging the escalation and that over the summer the Houthis had spurned an offer to negotiate.

The Houthis operate in a large and mountainous territory where they can disperse fighters and military infrastructure while threatening major oil facilities and key trade routes.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted four drones, including over the capital Riyadh, as the country comes under repeated fire from Yemen's Houthis.

Riyadh leads a military coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognised government in its civil war with the Iran-backed Houthis.

Missiles struck Yemen's Aden International Airport on Friday, while a Saudi-led military coalition said it had intercepted a ballistic missile headed for the Red Sea city of Yanbu, a key Saudi oil hub that allows exports to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

The coalition said it had also destroyed two cruise missiles over the Red Sea and three drones in Saudi Arabia's Southern and Riyadh regions. It did not identify the attackers.

In Aden in southern Yemen, two missiles landed on the airport grounds, the Aden Security Department said, blaming the Iran-aligned Houthi group. It said the incident was the second attack on the facility in less than a week. The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility.

No casualties were reported. A Yemenia Airways flight bound for Cairo was preparing for takeoff when the missiles landed, the security department said.

Yanbu is a key outlet for Saudi oil exports, allowing the kingdom to ship crude to international markets via the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. The vital waterway has been largely throttled by Iran since the US and Israel launched attacks on the country in February.

Saudi Civil Defense authorities issued an alert early on Saturday for Abha in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border before sending an all-clear. Earlier they had issued alerts in the Jazan region and the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait, where such warnings have become frequent since fighting resumed last month.

Also early on Saturday, Houthi-affiliated media reported strikes east of Yemen's northwestern city of Saada. The Saudi-led coalition said it had destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in the area.

Fighting between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's government has raised fears of a further deterioration in the country's humanitarian crisis. Aid agencies have warned that conditions are worsening rapidly.

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The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia since the conflict reignited, targetingairports, oil facilities and other infrastructure. In recent days, the group has also targeted sites in government-held parts of Yemen, including Aden airport and the presidential palace in the interim capital.

A spokesperson for the Houthi-run health ministry said on Friday that 124 civilians had been killed and 327 wounded in what he described as "Saudi aggression" since the escalation began on September 3. Reuters could not independently verify the figures.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Tehran supports a "political process" to resolve the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.