Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis struck four cities in southern Saudi Arabia Tuesday, wounding more than 70 people and setting oil facilities ablaze in a major escalation of the regional war.
The Houthis, who control most of Yemen's populated areas including the capital, said they had launched a broad operation deep into Saudi territory. They used drones and missiles to strike a Saudi airbase in the southern city of Khamis Mushait and targets belonging to Saudi Arabia's state oil company in nearby Abha, Najran on the Yemeni border and Jazan, a major Red Sea port city that houses a large refinery and power plant.
Saudi authorities described blazes at the sites and said women and children were among the 73 people hurt. The reports of such large numbers of wounded suggested the attacks were among the biggest carried out against Saudi Arabia since the U.S. and Israel launched their war against Iran in February.
Confirmed images of the aftermath of the Houthi attacks in Saudi cities were not immediately available and witnesses could not be reached in a country where media is tightly controlled.
The Houthis released pictures showing thick smoke and explosions of what they said were trucks from Saudi Arabia that they had hit in separate strikes at the border in another area further east Monday.
