Houthis attack Saudi oil facilities

The Houthi rebel group in Yemen launched a wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding 73 people and igniting fires at oil facilities and utilities in the kingdom, authorities said.

The Houthis said the attacks were in response to more than 120 strikes launched by Saudi Arabia on Yemen in the last three days.

“Yemeni armed forces carried out a large-scale, long-range military operation … using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones,” the military’s spokesman Yahya Saree said.

The attacks ignited fires at several oil facilities and utilities in Saudi Arabia’s southern region, the kingdom’s Energy Ministry said. Operations at the oil facilities and utilities were temporarily suspended.

Hostilities restarted in July when the Houthis launched missiles and drones towards Saudi Arabia’s Abha international airport, following an attack on Sanaa airport. Later that month, the Houthis announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia and began attacking Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea.