Houthi strikes on Yemeni port and Saudi refinery raise war fears
Houthi missile and drone strikes hit Yemen's Mokha port, killing seven, and targeted a Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan.
Yemen's Houthi rebels launched coordinated attacks on Sunday against a government-held port on the Red Sea coast and a Saudi oil facility, killing at least seven people and stoking fears of a return to full-scale conflict.
The strikes on Mokha, a key port under Yemen's internationally recognized government, killed four troops and three civilians, according to the National Resistance Forces, a government-allied militia. Fifteen civilians were reported injured.
Assistant Undersecretary of the Information Ministry Fayed al-Noman said the rebels fired missiles and drones that severely damaged port buildings, piers, and commercial goods, including food supplies. The military later reported an attempted attack using an explosive-laden unmanned boat, and said missiles landed in several areas, including near a television channel.
Mokha has been renovated in recent years to handle shipping that avoids the Houthi-held port of Hodeida, making it a strategic target.
In a separate development, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group targeted an Aramco refinery in the Saudi city of Jazan with a drone. The attack was described as a response to Saudi drones breaching Yemen's airspace over the provinces of Hajjah and Saada.
The Saudi Energy Ministry confirmed a fire at a facility belonging to the Aramco refinery but reported no casualties. The ministry did not specify the cause of the blaze.
The attacks threaten to reignite Yemen's civil war, which has been largely dormant since a 2022 truce halted major fighting in the impoverished Arab nation.