Houthis, Saudis Trade Blows as Battle for Yemen Rages On

The Yemeni Houthi movement on Sunday launched one of its largest attacks to date against northern neighbor Saudi Arabia, targeting oil facilities, military bases and civilian centers with drones and missiles. Riyadh’s Energy Ministry said several armed drones and ballistic missiles headed for sites owned by Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, were intercepted, and that no casualties or property damage were sustained. “Such acts of sabotage do not only target the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia but also the security and stability of energy supplies to the world, and therefore, the global economy,” a ministry spokesman said in a statement on state media. In response, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthis over control of Yemen conducted air raids on the Houthi-controlled capital of Sanaa. Two years ago, Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, suffered a similar strike, blamed on Iranian forces, at approximately the same location, forcing it to temporarily shut down more than half of its oil output. Recent months have seen a spike in cross-border attacks as the Yemeni civil war enters its seventh year. US President Joe Biden recently pledged to protect Riyadh from Houthi aggression, while at the same time halting US military aid to the anti-Houthi coalition.