Saudi Arabia Says Houthi Attacks Wounded 73 Civilians, Vows Countermeasures

• Saudi Arabia accused Yemen's Houthi rebels of striking civilian and energy sites across four southern provinces, wounding at least 73 people
• The Saudi-led coalition called the attacks a 'dangerous escalation' and warned it would take all necessary operational measures in response
• The Houthis said their strikes were retaliation for more than 120 Saudi air raids on Yemen in the three days before the attack

Saudi Arabia has accused Houthi rebels from Yemen of striking civilian and economic targets across four of its southern provinces, leaving at least 73 people wounded, including women and children.

Major-General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition operating in Yemen, said in a statement on Tuesday that sites in the provinces of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jizan and Najran were hit. He did not give precise dates for when the attacks occurred.

According to Al Jazeera, Al-Maliki condemned the strikes as a "dangerous escalation" and a "blatant violation" of Saudi sovereignty, adding that they posed a direct threat to both citizens and residents of the kingdom. He warned the coalition would take "all necessary operational measures" to confront what he described as the sources of the threat.

Energy facilities hit, operations halted

The Saudi Ministry of Energy confirmed in a separate statement that multiple energy facilities and installations in the country's southern region were struck early Tuesday morning.

The ministry said fires broke out at several locations and that some operations had been temporarily suspended as a result of the damage.

The Houthis later acknowledged the attacks, framing them as a direct response to more than 120 Saudi air strikes on Yemen over the preceding three days.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group carried out "a large-scale, long-range military operation … using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones."

The group also accused Saudi Arabia of bombing a prison in al-Hazm, in the northern al-Jawf governorate, killing at least seven people, and warned that "ongoing Saudi aggression against Yemen will not go unpunished." Riyadh had not commented on that allegation at the time of publication.

Conflict widens across Yemen

The exchange of strikes comes as Yemen's Saudi-backed government mounts a counteroffensive to reclaim territory from the Iran-aligned Houthis. Fighting that began last week near western Taiz and southern Hodeidah has since spread to al-Dhalea, Marib, al-Jawf and al-Bayda, as government forces seek to stretch Houthi resources across multiple fronts.

The World Health Organization reported that about 1,078 people have been killed or wounded since 24 August, while more than 21,000 people have been displaced since the latest offensive began on Thursday.

Yemen's conflict dates back to 2014, when the Houthis captured the capital Sanaa, prompting Saudi Arabia to lead a military intervention the following year. A United Nations-brokered truce in 2022 largely paused major hostilities, but fighting resumed after the United States and Israel launched military action against Iran in February.

Hostilities between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia reignited in July, when the group launched missile and drone attacks on Abha international airport and later announced a naval blockade of the kingdom, targeting Saudi-linked vessels in the Red Sea.

Iran-backed Houthi Prime Minister killed

Legit.ng earlier reported that Ahmed al-Rahawi, the Prime Minister (PM) of Ansar Allah group, commonly known as the Houthis, has been assassinated in Israeli airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen.

Several of Al-Rahawi's companions were allegedly eliminated. Israeli officials said they believe the strikes eliminated Houthi defence minister Mohamed al-Atifi and chief of staff Muhammad Abd Al-Karim al-Ghamari during a cabinet meeting of senior officials outside Sanaa. Al-Ghamari had previously been wounded in an earlier Israeli attack.