Yemen’s armed forces have carried out four military operations targeting sites deep inside Saudi Arabia, including the Ministry of Defense in Riyadh, Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu and two airports, using ballistic missiles and drones, according to Yemeni military spokesman Yahya Saree.
In a statement on Thursday, Saree said the operations have been conducted over the previous 48 hours.
The first operation targeted the Saudi Ministry of Defense building in Riyadh, scoring a direct hit, according to the statement.
The second targeted King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, disrupting air traffic at the facility.
The third operation targeted Saudi Aramco facilities in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, causing a fire, while the fourth targeted Abha International Airport and scored a direct hit, Saree said.
The strikes on the Saudi airports come in response to Saudi attacks on airports in Yemen, including Sana’a International Airport, as part of an “airport for airport” equation.
Yemeni officials have also linked the response to the Saudi-led blockade and restrictions on access to the country, saying operations will continue in line with their stated policy of “blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation.”
Saree said Thursday that Saudi attacks on Yemen had intensified over the past 100 days, with more than 2,900 air and missile strikes targeting civilian sites during the period.
Dozens of those attacks had killed or injured more than 562 people, mostly women and children, he said.
The statement warned Riyadh against threats to target Yemeni tribes, saying that carrying out such threats would have “catastrophic and unpredictable” consequences for Saudi Arabia.
Saree said Yemen’s armed forces could resort to options they had previously refrained from pursuing, holding Saudi Arabia responsible for the consequences of any such action.
He said operations against targets deep inside Saudi territory would continue, reaffirming the equation of “blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation.”
In a separate statement, Saree said preliminary information indicated that Saudi Arabia has targeted an Indian recreational boat near Zuqar Island in the Red Sea, with 14 Indian nationals on board.
Yemen’s armed forces were conducting a rescue operation to save those aboard, he said, adding that further details will be released later.
Saree described the incident as a reckless act and warned that such strikes endanger international shipping in the Red Sea.
He called on the international community to pressure Saudi Arabia to halt its attacks and prevent similar incidents from recurring.
Clashes between Yemeni armed forces and Saudi-backed forces inside Yemen have also continued along several fronts, particularly in Taiz.
Saudi airstrikes killed nine civilians and wounded four others in Yemen’s Taiz province, according to reports cited in the account.
Separate attacks killed eight Yemeni fishermen off the Taiz coast, while another civilian was killed and four people were wounded in the same province, the reports said.
The Yemeni Armed Forces’ counteroffensive came after more than a decade of Saudi-led war and blockade against Yemen, which began in 2015 when Riyadh intervened militarily to restore the former regime in the country.
The war has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemenis, while Riyadh has failed to achieve its stated objective of reinstating the government it backed in Sana’a.
Saudi Arabia has sharply escalated its aggression in recent weeks, with Yemeni officials reporting hundreds of airstrikes across the country.
The Yemeni Armed Forces have responded with major operations along the Red Sea coast, driving Saudi-backed forces from strategic positions.
They have also seized strategic areas and islands around Bab al-Mandeb, significantly strengthening their position at one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.
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