CAIRO — A wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia Tuesday wounded more than 70 people and ignited fires at several oil facilities and utilities in the kingdom's southern region, authorities said, a major escalation in the renewed conflict between an important U.S. ally and the Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen. The attacks come after weeks of escalating clashes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen, which shattered a four-year truce in the country's civil war. The flare-up delivered a new jolt to a region already destabilized by nearly three years of wars and brings more uncertainty for the global economy.
The fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis threatens to squeeze shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical route of the Arabian Peninsula for oil and global trade. It also comes at a time when the Iran war has nearly halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that moved about one-fifth of the world's oil before the war. Fighting has raged on multiple fronts including Yemen's west coast, with government forces saying they have made territorial gains in the provinces of Hodeida, Taiz and Baydah.
The Houthis have also launched attacks on Saudi oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea. The attacks early Tuesday hit "civilian and economic facilities" in the Saudi cities of Abha, Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait, said Maj. Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
Al-Malki said the attacks wounded 73 people, including women and children. He didn't provide further details. The attacks ignited fires at several oil facilities and utilities in Saudi Arabia's southern region, the kingdom's Energy Ministry said in a statement.
Operations at the oil facilities and utilities were temporarily suspended, it said. The southern region houses major oil facilities, including a 400,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery in Jazan, which is one of Saudi Arabia's largest. The Houthis had previously attacked the Abha airport.
The ministry said firefighters were battling the fires Tuesday morning. Al-Malki called the attacks a "serious escalation" and a "flagrant violation of the kingdom's sovereignty, and a direct threat to the security and safety of its citizens and residents." He vowed retaliation, saying that the Saudi-led coalition "will take all necessary operational measures to deter the terrorist Houthi militia with utmost resolve." The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they were in response to recent Saudi attacks on the rebels across Yemen. In a prerecorded video statement, Brig.
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