Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed on Saturday that they launched missiles and drones at “sensitive” sites in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, hours after flames and a huge plume of black smoke were seen near the city’s main airport.
Saudi Arabia’s military coalition said its air defences intercepted and destroyed a missile fired towards Riyadh early on Saturday. Saudi authorities had issued overnight alerts warning residents of a potential aerial attack before giving an all-clear on Saturday morning.
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The Houthis did not identify the sites they said they targeted in Riyadh. They also claimed an attack on an Aramco facility in Yanbu, a key Saudi oil export hub on the Red Sea coast.
The group said the attacks were carried out in response to an attack in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree had on Friday accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out what he described as “criminal attempts” in Sanaa and vowed retaliation.
SMOKE SEEN NEAR RIYADH AIRPORT
Reuters video and photographs showed a large pillar of black smoke rising near Riyadh’s main airport, with the airport highway, terminal building and other facilities visible in the foreground. Flames were also seen rising from behind what appeared to be fuel tanks.
Saudi civil defence sent phone alerts overnight warning of possible aerial attacks in Riyadh and Al-Kharj, east of the capital. A Reuters journalist in Riyadh’s Olaya district reported hearing booms before the all-clear was issued.
The Saudi-led coalition also said it had thwarted attacks targeting civilians in Bish and Farasan in southwestern Saudi Arabia, Taif in the west and Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. It did not provide details of any damage from those attempted attacks.
The latest alerts were the first issued in Riyadh since the Houthi escalation began in July, although some warnings had been issued earlier this year following the start of the wider US-Iran war.
HOUTHIS ESCALATE ATTACKS ON SAUDI ARABIA
The Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen and the country’s most populous areas, have intensified attacks on Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July. Their strikes have targeted Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea.
The escalation has created additional risks for global oil supplies and shipping, particularly as the Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Saudi Arabia could have military requirements because of the continuing Houthi attacks and that Turkey was ready to assist under a trilateral defence pact involving Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
Fidan said the assistance could include “some technical issues”, although the precise nature of any Turkish support remained unclear. The defence agreement, signed last month, states that an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be considered an attack against all three.
The conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia has emerged as another theatre in the wider regional war that began with US and Israeli strikes against Iran at the end of February. US President Donald Trump has rejected Saudi requests for direct US military intervention against the Houthis.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei said on Saturday that Tehran wanted the Saudi-Houthi war to end and believed Yemenis also wanted a settlement with Saudi Arabia.
Rezaei said Iran had conveyed conditions to mediators for resuming stalled negotiations with the United States, including an end to the war “on all fronts”. He said consultations with Qatari and Pakistani mediators were continuing and Tehran was awaiting a response from Trump.
The UN Security Council on Friday condemned continued Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, including strikes affecting civilian and energy infrastructure that have injured civilians, as well as the group’s military escalation in Yemen.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
