Saudi Arabia accused Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels of attacking civilian and economic sites inside the kingdom with dozens of drones and missiles, injuring at least 73 people, including women and children, according to a statement made on Tuesday, 8 September.
The accusation was issued as fighting intensified in Yemen, where the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government has launched a counteroffensive aimed at retaking territory from the Houthis.
According to Major-General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, the attacks struck areas including the provinces of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jizan and Najran, though he did not specify when the attacks occurred.
Saudi officials characterized the strikes as dangerous and a violation of the kingdom’s sovereignty, warning that they posed a direct threat to Saudi citizens and residents.
Saudi authorities also reported damage to infrastructure tied to energy production. The Ministry of Energy said that energy-sector facilities and installations in southern parts of the kingdom were hit early on Tuesday.
Separately, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Riyadh would take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and demanded that the Houthis stop their attacks.
In response, the Houthis said their attacks were retaliation for more than 120 strikes attributed to Saudi Arabia in the last three days.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said that Yemeni armed forces carried out a large-scale operation using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, hitting parts of Taiz, including the Al-Waziyah district.
The Yemen conflict began back in 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa which prompted a Saudi military intervention the following year. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 had largely reduced fighting, but hostilities resumed following the war the United States and Israel launched against Iran in February.
Fighting intensified again in July, when the Houthis launched missiles and drones toward Saudi Arabia’s Abha international airport following an attack on Sanaa airport.
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