Yemen · updated 2h ago · 2 min read
Houthi Attacks Wound 73 People and Ignite Fires at Saudi Energy Facilities
Houthis attacked Saudi civilian and energy sites, wounding 73 people. Fires erupted at Aramco-related energy facilities and utilities in Abha and Jizan.
Why the attacks happened (response to Saudi strikes).
11 of 12 outlets skipped it: oil prices rose about 1% after the attacks.
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Same story, two versions
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CNN
“the Houthi military said the attacks were in response to more than 100 Saudi airstrikes in Yemen”Read the original ↗
CNN highlights Houthi retaliation claims; AP stresses gaps by not detailing motives.
Saudi oil sites hit
Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday wounded 73 people and ignited fires at energy facilities and utilities in the kingdom’s southern region, according to Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
“At least 73 people, including women and children, had been wounded”
CNN reported that the Houthi attacks struck several sites in south-western Saudi Arabia and that the Saudi Energy Ministry said the attacks caused fires at several sites, temporarily halting some operations.C
NPR said the attacks early Tuesday hit “civilian and economic facilities” in the Saudi cities of Abha, Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait, and that operations at the oil facilities and utilities were temporarily suspended.
The BBC said the attacks left 73 civilians injured in the Kingdom and that fires broke out at several sites, including King Khalid Air Base, Abha International Airport, and facilities belonging to Aramco in Abha and Jizan.
Threats and counterclaims
In a statement Tuesday, the Houthi military said the attacks were in response to more than 100 Saudi airstrikes in Yemen over the past three days that it claimed had killed many people, and it said it had fired “dozens of ballistic missiles and drones.”
CNN quoted the Saudi-led coalition’s Major General Turki Al-Maliki describing the attacks as “dangerous” and “senseless,” and it said the coalition would “resolutely confront (the Houthis) hostile approach.”C
The BBC reported that the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the Kingdom asserts its “legitimate right to take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty,” emphasizing the “urgent need to halt all forms of escalation practiced by this militia and its ongoing threats to maritime security.”
In a post on X, the BBC said Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarei confirmed that the Houthis launched a wide-scale military operation deep inside Saudi territory, adding that the strikes came in response to Riyadh’s “121 airstrikes” in Yemen over the past three days.
What comes next
The escalation also unfolded alongside renewed fighting inside Yemen, with government forces saying they have made territorial gains in the provinces of Hodeida, Taiz and Baydah, according to NPR.
“threatens to squeeze shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait”
NPR said the flare-up threatened to squeeze shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical route for oil and global trade, and it added that the Iran war has nearly halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that moved about one-fifth of the world’s oil before the war.
The BBC said the current battles were among the fiercest in Yemen in years, following a Thursday-wide ground offensive by the Houthis, coupled with missile and drone strikes on Red Sea coast areas and around Taiz, in an attempt to advance toward areas adjacent to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait controlled by the government.
Al Jazeera reported that the World Health Organization said some 1,078 people have been killed or wounded since August 24, while more than 21,000 people have been displaced since Thursday, as fighting intensified in Yemen alongside the Saudi attacks.