Houthis Say They Hit Saudi Base as Fighting Flares Around Bab al-Mandab
Houthis claim missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia's Sharurah base, as Saudi civil defence reports injuries in Jazan and fighting escalates near Mocha and Bab al-Mandab.
Yemen's Houthi movement said it launched a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones at the Sharurah military base in southern Saudi Arabia, describing the targets as weapons depots and command-and-control centres directing operations against Yemen.
The group's military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said in a statement on X that the operation was a response to continued Saudi military action and that the strikes were precise and direct. He warned that future operations would be more intense and would reach deeper into Saudi territory.
Sarea said a day earlier that Saudi warplanes had carried out 129 airstrikes across seven Yemeni provinces in 48 hours. The affected areas, he said, included the southwestern province of Taiz, the oil-rich northeastern province of Marib, the Red Sea province of Hodeidah, and the northern provinces of Al-Jawf, Saada, Amran and Hajjah. He said F-15 and Typhoon jets flew the missions from Saudi bases in Khamis Mushait and Taif, and that the strikes would not go unanswered.
Saudi civil defence authorities said two people were injured when a projectile fired from Yemen landed in Al-Tuwal governorate in the Jazan region. The incident also caused material damage to a mosque, several buildings and vehicles, the agency said, adding that its teams responded and that targeting civilian sites violates international humanitarian law.
Separately, Yemeni government forces said they struck Houthi members and vehicles in the Red Sea port city of Mocha, which the Houthis captured on Thursday. After taking Mocha, Houthi forces moved south into Dhubab and seized Mayun Island on Friday, strengthening their hold around the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Mayun, also known as Perim, sits in the middle of the strait, splitting the waterway into two channels. The strait links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is a key route for shipping between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal.
The latest exchanges mark one of the sharpest escalations since a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities. Yemen's conflict began in late 2014, when the Houthis took Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognised government.