Saudi Arabian-led coalition warplanes slammed the military bases of Yemeni rebels in retaliation for a weekend attack on the heart of the kingdom’s economy.
The raids on the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, were aimed at military camps, as well as Houthi rebel facilities near the city’s airport and in its suburbs, residents and rebel Al-Masirah TV said. A separate strike has hit a rebel target in the port province of Hodeidah.
The Iran-backed Houthis attacked a Saudi-Aramco oil refinery in Riyadh on Friday with six bomb-laden drones. The assault caused a fire that was later controlled without having an impact on oil supplies or derivatives, state-controlled media said. No casualties were reported.
Saudi Arabia says missiles in Aramco attacks were made in Iran
The escalation is likely to hamper US efforts to stem the seven-year war in Yemen, which has created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, with widespread famine and disease. The conflict is also exacerbated by US President Joe Biden’s disagreement with Iran over how to provoke a 2015 agreement designed to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.
The Saudi-led coalition joined the conflict in neighboring Yemen in 2015 to try to restore its internationally recognized government.
The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia rarely claim lives or cause major damage, but their frequency has increased in recent months, causing discomfort in the Gulf, a key to global oil production and transit. Several attacks on the Saudi capital, Riyadh, have been intercepted, Saudi authorities said.
(Do not add victims of rebel attacks in third paragraph)