Yemenupdated 1h ago2 min read
Houthi Spokesman Yahya Saree Says Six Attacks Hit Saudi Airports, Oil Facilities
“Yemen's Houthis denied launching any attack towards Saudi Arabia on Friday”
“The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen has reported that it intercepted a drone launched by the Houthis towards Saudi Arabia’s Mecca region.”
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Houthis claim six attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities nationwide. Coalition says drone intercepted near Mecca; Houthis deny launching toward Saudi territory.
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Houthi claims, Saudi intercepts
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement posted on X that Houthi forces carried out six attacks on airports and oil facilities across Saudi Arabia, including the Ras Tanura oil refinery with a ballistic missile and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with multiple missiles. Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence said shrapnel from an interception wounded one Saudi citizen in Riyadh, and the agency’s spokesperson told the state-run news agency that shrapnel also damaged a house and a vehicle.
The Saudi-led coalition reported that it intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by the Houthis towards Saudi Arabia’s Mecca region on Friday morning, and coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said the drone was “intercepted and destroyed.” Yahya Saree denied targeting the Muslim holy city or surrounding region, writing that “Our operations target [Saudi] oil facilities and military bases, and there is no longer anyone in this world who believes these fabrications and lies propagated by the criminal Al Saud regime.”
Tehran talks, rising combat
Iran hosted a rare meeting in Tehran earlier this week where Saudi and Iranian senior officials agreed to resolve differences in the region through dialogue, and the meeting was attended by Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. The Al Jazeera report said the ramped-up combat continued despite the diplomacy, and it described Houthi missiles and drones striking the kingdom and Saudi-backed forces inside Yemen.
Reuters reported that Yemen’s Houthis denied launching any attack towards Saudi Arabia on Friday after the coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a drone over the Mecca region, and Reuters said Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree dismissed the account as false on X. Yahya Saree said the group had not carried out any operation towards Saudi territory, while he insisted its operations target Saudi oil facilities and military bases, according to Reuters’ account of his post.
Yemen front lines and stakes
In Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis traded claims of attacks and interceptions while humanitarian agencies warned of worsening conditions for civilians, and Al Jazeera reported that fighting along the front lines was persisting in Taiz. Al Jazeera Arabic’s Hadeel al-Yamani reported from Taiz that the governor of Taiz said the city was suffering heavy shelling, with residential neighbourhoods taking hits, and he quoted the governor describing a “suffocating siege, with no medical supplies, water or fuel getting in.”
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said in an official statement that six operations were carried out “in response to the brutal Saudi aggression targeting our country and our people,” and he framed the strikes as retaliation for “the recent massacres that claimed the lives of dozens of martyrs.” Reuters cited United Nations figures saying more than 1,600 people have been killed since renewed fighting began in July, and it said more than 275,000 have been displaced, while the Red Cross warned Yemen’s health system was “on the brink of collapse.”