Saudi Arabia says it intercepts six Houthi missiles targeting cities including Yanbu oil hub

SAUDI Arabia came under attack from the Houthis again on Thursday (Sep 24), with the kingdom saying it intercepted missiles fired toward the Red Sea port of Yanbu and city of Taif.

Saudi-backed coalition forces say they intercepted six ballistic missiles and that any escalation from the Iran-back militants, who are based in Yemen, must be “dealt with firmly.”

As well as Yanbu and Taif, Saudi authorities issued warnings in the Islamic holy city of Mecca and cities of Jeddah and Tabuk. They soon announced the danger had passed, without saying if they had had to intercept any projectiles.

All the sites lie in western Saudi Arabia, on or near the Red Sea coast.

The attacks show the persistent threat Saudi Arabia faces from the Houthis, who have stepped up strikes on the kingdom in September, injuring dozens of people and damaging energy infrastructure.

The Houthis have also made advances against Saudi-backed forces in Yemen in recent weeks, capturing almost all of the country’s Red Sea coastline, including islands in the middle of the the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

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Asean Intelligence

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The militants have reported hundreds of strikes by the Saudi-backed coalition forces on Houthi areas in September. They say they are attacking Saudi Arabia because their cities and ports are under “siege” from the kingdom and the Yemeni anti-Houthi forces it backs.

Saudi Arabia is working to restart the kingdom’s key East-West oil pipeline after it was hit by drones from Iraq – where many pro-Teheran militias are based – earlier in September. The 1,200 km conduit had allowed Saudi Arabia to redirect flows overland to Yanbu due to continued disruption to the Strait of Hormuz. 

Brent crude oil jumped almost 2 per cent to US$105 a barrel on Thursday, as expectations faded for a deal to reopen Hormuz. The US and Israel’s war on Iran has roiled energy markets and the Middle East as a whole since it began in late February, with no end in sight. BLOOMBERG