Houthis Blast 6 Saudi Fuel Tanks, Wound 73, and Scuttle Gulf-Iran Talks
Houthi forces launched missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia, destroying at least six fuel storage tanks in Abha, wounding 73 people, and prompting Persian Gulf Arab states to cancel a planned meeting with Iran.
Yemen's Houthi movement carried out a series of attacks on southern Saudi Arabia this week, striking oil and utility facilities, a military base, and a border community, according to officials and satellite imagery [237942][240155][240897]. The strikes set several sites on fire and wounded 73 people [237942].
Satellite images revealed severe damage at two locations in the kingdom. At least six fuel storage tanks were destroyed in Abha, and burn scars were visible at a military site in Sharurah [240897]. The Houthis said they attacked a military base in Sharurah, while Saudi Arabia reported that two people were injured in attacks on a border community elsewhere in the country [240155].
The Houthi group also claimed it launched a large missile and drone attack on a Saudi air base. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia, and the claim was not independently verified [240788].
The attacks pushed the fighting into a new area and placed global oil supplies at greater risk [240919]. In response, Persian Gulf Arab states canceled a planned Monday meeting with Iran, a decision made after the latest Houthi strike on Saudi Arabia [240919].
The escalation came as Yemen's government forces attacked Iran-backed Houthi rebels along the Red Sea coast, and the Houthis fired back into Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen's government [240836]. Yemen promised to send more forces to the Red Sea coast after an official admitted a "painful" defeat last week, when Houthis captured the port city of Mokha and an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping route and an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz [240836].