Houthi Missiles Strike Yemen's Mocha Port, Killing Four Civilians

Yemen's internationally recognised government has reported that Houthi forces launched six ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port of Mocha on Friday, resulting in the deaths of four civilians. The attack, which targeted civilian infrastructure and national assets, also set several fishing boats on fire, according to initial reports from government-aligned armed forces.

The Houthis, for their part, stated they had struck Saudi-backed military build-ups, weapons, and warships in Mocha with a large number of missiles, claiming to have destroyed boats and military equipment.

This incident marks a significant escalation in the long-running conflict, coming at a time of heightened regional tensions. The Houthis have emerged as a key front in the broader regional situation, raising concerns about a potential return to large-scale conflict in Yemen.

In a separate development, the Houthi-run SABA news agency reported that the group had targeted an Aramco facility in the Saudi city of Najran with a drone. The reported attack was described as a response to Saudi military aircraft entering airspace over Yemen's Saada governorate. The report did not specify the precise target or confirm whether it was hit, and there was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities or Aramco.

These attacks follow a series of recent escalations. On Thursday, the Houthis claimed to have attacked an Aramco refinery in Saudi Arabia's Jazan with two drones. Late last month, the group announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, a move that drew air strikes from the Saudi-led coalition on Houthi military facilities in Hodeidah.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year. Major fighting largely subsided under a U.N.-brokered truce in 2022, but efforts to secure a lasting political settlement have stalled.