Saudi Arabia has vowed to respond “firmly” after Houthi missile and drone attacks wounded 13 civilians in three Saudi cities, while the Iran-aligned group accused the kingdom of launching dozens of air raids across Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition said the attacks struck Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, causing minor to moderate injuries and damaging seven homes and two vehicles.
Coalition spokesman Major-General Turki al-Maliki said: “The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will deal with these attacks responsibly and firmly to protect the sovereignty of the kingdom.”
Houthis allege 54 Saudi air raids
Later on Tuesday, the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, said Saudi aircraft had carried out 54 raids over the previous 24 hours across the Yemeni governorates of Lahj, Taiz, al-Jawf, Marib and Hajjah.
The group said an air strike hit a government complex in Khadir district in Taiz province, causing injuries. Its military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets operating from Saudi airbases in Khamis Mushait and Taif had been involved, and threatened retaliation.
Houthi-aligned media reported that three civilians, including two children, were killed and at least two others injured in Saudi strikes on the Dhubab and Maqbanah districts of Taiz. The claims have not been independently verified.
Saudi Arabia has not publicly commented on the alleged strikes. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.
The latest exchange followed a Houthi statement on Monday claiming that dozens of missiles and drones had been fired at King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait. The group said it had targeted hangars, radar systems, runways and ammunition depots in retaliation for Saudi air raids in Yemen.
The Houthis also claimed that Saudi warplanes had conducted 300 raids across Yemen in the five days before Monday.
The aerial attacks come after the Houthis made rapid advances in western Yemen last week, taking control of much of the country’s Red Sea coast and moving towards areas near the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
Forces supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government said on Monday that they had retaken positions from the Houthis in the contested Taiz province, striking fighters and equipment in Dhubab and al-Khokha on the Red Sea coast.
Houthi and Yemeni government officials also said the group had seized the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands in the southern Red Sea, about 160km north of Bab al-Mandeb, as well as Mayyun Island at the mouth of the Red Sea.
The conflict, which has lasted for more than a decade, reignited in July after the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and began attacking ships in the Red Sea. The escalation has threatened a United Nations-brokered ceasefire agreed in 2022 that had halted large-scale fighting.
