CAIRO (AP) — Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed new attacks on military facilities and airports in neighboring Saudi Arabia on Wednesday as the kingdom is pulled deeper into the latest front in the Iran war, which also is threatening a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis’ military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, said on social media that the rebels launched ballistic missiles and drones against King Khalid
International Airport in the capital, Riyadh, but didn’t provide evidence. Flights were briefly disrupted, according to Flightradar24.
The spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said they intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh.
The kingdom has faced a string of such attacks on oil and military targets in recent days. Now Saudi Arabia and allied Yemeni forces have launched a major ground and air offensive against the Houthis in an attempt to retake territory that the rebels seized about a month ago along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast and on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Those positions gave the Houthis better surveillance as they pursue a blockade of shipping linked to Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter. On Monday, officials said forces of the Saudi-led coalition recaptured several key areas around the strait, through which about 12% of global trade transits.
“The Houthis believe that they can maximize Saudi economic costs and compel Saudi Arabia to surrender to Houthi demands by striking civilian infrastructure, such as oil facilities and airports,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, wrote in an analysis.
New cagelike fences have been erected this week around fuel tanks and other equipment at the facility of the Saudi state-run Aramco oil company near the Riyadh airport.
The Houthi spokesperson said they also targeted Abha airport in Saudi Arabia, a frequent target of rebel drones and missiles. The rebels also claimed to hit an air base in the city of Khamis Mushait and two military bases in Najran and Asir. All are in the southwest and near the border with Yemen.
Inside Yemen, fighting has centered in and around the crucial town of Dhubab, some 54 kilometers (33.5 miles) south of the port city of Mokha that the rebels seized last month, according to both the Houthis and the Yemeni government.
Clashes were also reported in Waziayah district in southwestern Taiz province, which links Yemen’s highlands to the Red Sea and overlooks roads to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Al-Malki has vowed “full operational support” to Yemeni government forces until the Houthis are “eliminated.” The coalition has said 100 fighter jets were providing support. Another aim is to “liberate” Sanaa, Yemen’s rebel-controlled capital.
The offensive began after the rebels seized the town of Turbah on a main road linking the provincial capital of Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, with Aden, the seat of the internationally recognized government. Officials have said U.S. support has included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning.
The escalation has revived Yemen’s civil war after a four-year ceasefire. Almost 1,000 people have been killed in the latest fighting, with almost 175,000 displaced, according to the United Nations.
The Houthis also said they launched a missile strike early Wednesday against Aden. An Associated Press journalist heard explosions around 2 a.m.
The rebels hit a military camp close to the city's airport with ballistic missiles, Saree said. Security authorities in Aden said the Houthis targeted the airport with two missiles, with no casualties. The airport is close to the seat of government.
“The targeting of this vital civilian facility represents a direct threat to the safety of civilians, passengers, employees and flight crews,” the Aden police said in a statement.
The attack threatened “a humanitarian disaster,” as one missile hit close to the runway just before the scheduled landing of a flight from Cairo, the Human Rights Ministry said.
Flight 603, operated by Yemen’s flagship airline, landed safely in Aden at 3:30 a.m., according to flight tracking platform FlightAware. The ministry said the missile hit as other passengers were waiting to board their flight to the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.
