Houthis attack Saudi refinery, Yemeni Red Sea port at Mokha
by Lisa Hornung · UPIAug. 9 (UPI) -- Firefighters in Saudi Arabia extinguished a fire at the state-owned oil company Aramco early Sunday after Houthis in Yemen claimed they attacked the facility.
"The competent authorities are completing the necessary procedures to deal with the incident" at the Aramco refinery in Jazan, Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said in a statement on X. It added that there were no injuries. The statement did not state the fire's cause.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed they made a drone strike on the refinery.
"Yemen's Armed Forces said they hit Saudi Arabia's Aramco refinery in Jazan on Sunday, describing the drone strike as precise and carried out in response to Saudi drone violations of Yemeni airspace," Iranian state-backed news agency Mehr said in a post on X, of Houthi forces.
The attack was in retaliation for Saudi drones that allegedly breached Yemeni airspace of Hajjah and Saada, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree posted on X.
The Houthis also killed at least seven people in a strike on the Red Sea port of Mokha, Yemen's National Resistance Forces reported. The National Resistance Forces align themselves with the government of Yemen.
They said four military personnel and three civilians were killed, and 15 civilians were injured in the attack, Fox News reported.
The attack included missiles and drones from the Houthis and severely damaged a pier and buildings. It also damaged commercial goods and food stored at a facility, said Fayed al-Noman, an official with Yemen's information ministry.
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attack.
Saree posted a statement on X: "The Armed Forces, with the aid of Allah Almighty, have carried out a broad and qualitative military operation targeting the Saudi enemy's mobilizations and weapons depots in the Al-Makha [Mokha] area. The strike, by the grace of Allah, was precise and resulted in widespread destruction of that equipment and weaponry, as well as the killing and wounding of dozens, including Saudis, using a large number of ballistic missiles and drones.
"We will not allow the Saudi enemy to achieve its objectives, which consist of targeting our people and throwing their sons into the fires of death in service of its conspiratorial agenda for the enemies of the nation," Saree continued. "The Armed Forces will continue, with the aid of Allah Almighty and in reliance upon Him, to monitor and track all Saudi movements and mobilizations and to target them with precision and directness. Our Yemeni people and their Armed Forces will proceed according to the declared equation: 'A siege for a siege, escalation for escalation, and targeting any mobilizations aimed at the Yemeni people and the free governorates.'"
Mokha is a main port controlled by Yemen's government. It was recently renovated for shipping to avoid Houthi-controlled ports.
In July, a 14-member coalition formed to support the Saudi government against attacks in the Red Sea.
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