Yemen's Houthis announced on Thursday that they conducted two drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting what they described as sensitive facilities. According to reports from Xinhua, the Iran-aligned group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree confirmed the attacks, stating that both strikes achieved their objectives without providing further details on possible casualties or damage. The group launched the attacks in response to what they described as Saudi drone incursions into the airspace over Yemen's northern province of Saada, a Houthi stronghold bordering Saudi Arabia. As reported by AFP, Iran's Revolutionary Guards had earlier warned that Saudi Arabia would be "unable to contain" the Houthis as the rebels ramp up attacks on the kingdom.
The Houthis specifically identified the targets as Najran airport and an Aramco facility located in Najran. As reported by Xinhua, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree confirmed that one drone strike hit a sensitive target at Najran airport and another hit a facility belonging to Saudi state oil giant Aramco. According to AFP, military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on Telegram that the group "successfully carried out two military operations using drones: the first targeted a sensitive Saudi enemy site at Najran Airport, while the second targeted the Aramco facility in Najran." The group described these as sensitive targets, though the exact nature of the facilities and their operational significance remains unconfirmed by Saudi authorities.
The Saudi government has not provided any official confirmation regarding the reported drone attacks. According to Xinhua, there was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities or Aramco on the Houthi claims, leaving the authenticity and impact of the alleged strikes unverified by the Saudi authorities. The latest claim comes amid escalating tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, with the group announcing a maritime ban on Saudi shipping on July 20, citing an alleged Saudi blockade of Houthi-held areas.
Since announcing the maritime ban, the Houthis have claimed a series of attacks on Saudi tankers, energy facilities and airports, while also intensifying missile and drone strikes on government-held areas in Yemen. As reported by AFP, Yemen, embroiled in more than a decade of civil conflict, in July became the latest country to be dragged into the Middle East war as the Houthis upended a 2022 truce with the country's Saudi-backed government. This week, a Yemeni minister told AFP that the Houthi rebels were plotting to seize land along the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which would allow them to further threaten the vital shipping artery. Three Houthi military sources, as well as a spokesman for the Yemeni government forces battling them near the waterway, also told AFP the rebels were planning to advance south from their current territory. Hostilities resumed last month when the Houthis welcomed an Iranian plane in Yemen's capital Sanaa, setting off a spate of tit-for-tat attacks.
The latest developments highlight growing concerns over maritime security in the Red Sea region, with the Houthis repeatedly claiming missile and drone strikes on tankers off Yanbu and in the wider Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. As reported by UKMTO, a tanker was struck by an "unknown projectile" 63 nautical miles west of Saudi Arabia's Yanbu on Monday, causing a fire on its main deck but with all crew members safe and no environmental impact reported. The incident occurred near Yanbu, a key Red Sea export hub that Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on to move crude and oil products overland via pipeline after the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf became a war zone. UKMTO has issued multiple similar advisories in recent months covering incidents off Yemen, Oman and the Gulf of Aden, adding to disruptions caused by the standoff around the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply typically passes.
