Houthi strikes in Saudi Arabia wound 73, coalition says

Houthi strikes in Saudi Arabia wounded 73 civilians, the Riyadh-led coalition said Tuesday, adding that it would respond to attacks it said targeted civilian and economic sites.

Houthi media Ansarollah said Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels hit targets in Saudi Arabia including Abha International Airport, King Khalid air base and facilities belonging to state-owned oil company Aramco in Abha and Jizan.

The coalition’s Joint Forces Command called the strikes “senseless attacks” and said it would take “all necessary measures and actions” to respond to the sources of the threat and neutralise the danger.

The strikes came after the Houthis accused Riyadh on Monday of carrying out strikes around Yemen, including a bombardment of a prison in Al-Hazm in northern Yemen. Houthi rebel TV channel Almasirah quoted Hassan Saboula, director-general of civil defence in Jawf province, as saying the prison strike killed 11 people and left 20 inmates missing under rubble. Houthi-affiliated Saba news agency had earlier reported that a child visiting the facility was among the dead.

Days of fighting near Yemen’s Red Sea coast have left more than 300 people dead and displaced hundreds of families as the Houthis try to capture land bordering the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The waterway forms the southern entrance to the Red Sea. The Yemen war between government forces and the Iran-backed Houthis reignited in July after several years of calm.