Daijiworld Media Network - Riyadh
Riyadh, Oct 25: Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels on Saturday claimed attacks on Saudi oil facilities and airports, while the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles as tensions between the two sides escalated amid the ongoing Iran war.
The internationally recognised Yemeni government also accused the Houthis of firing three ballistic missiles at coast guard installations in the southern port city of Aden, opening another front in the intensifying conflict.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh oil refinery, crude oil pumping stations and the East-West Pipeline. He also claimed attacks on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, an airport in Najran and an airbase in Khamis Mushait.
The Saudi-led coalition said it had destroyed two ballistic missiles fired towards Yanbu and Taif. Saudi authorities did not directly comment on the Houthi claims, although officials reported missile debris falling near one of the purported oil targets. It remained unclear whether any of the reported attacks had struck their intended targets or had been intercepted.
Saudi Civil Defence said debris from intercepted missiles had fallen in the Mecca and Medina regions, which are home to Islam's holiest sites and attract millions of pilgrims each year. Debris was reported in Wadi al-Mughammas in Mecca, as well as in parts of Jeddah, Taif and Rabigh.
The Houthis denied targeting Mecca and Medina, saying their operations were directed at Saudi oil facilities and military bases. It was not immediately clear whether the reported debris near Rabigh was connected to the claimed attack on the oil refinery.
In Yemen, the Interior Ministry of the internationally recognised government said two Houthi missiles struck a coast guard headquarters in Aden, while a third hit a coast guard building in the Tawahi district.
Saree, however, said the group's forces had targeted Saudi-backed military gatherings at Al-Nasr camp and a naval base in Aden, alleging that Saudi officers were overseeing the mobilisation there. The Saudi-led coalition had not immediately commented on the claim.
Earlier on Saturday, Saudi Civil Defence briefly issued alerts warning residents of potential danger in Taif, Yanbu, Mecca and Jeddah. The agency said about 10 minutes later that the threat had passed.
The latest escalation has further strained the fragile security situation in Yemen, shattering a United Nations-brokered truce reached in 2022 that had largely halted cross-border attacks between the Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen's internationally recognised government, and the Houthis, who control the capital, Sanaa.
The renewed fighting has also opened another front in the wider conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel. Earlier this month, the Houthis warned airlines against using Saudi airspace, exempting only the airspace over Mecca and Medina, as attacks against the kingdom intensified.