Yemen’s Houthis say they launched drones towards Saudi Arabia’s Dammam airport

Yemen’s Houthis said on Monday they had launched drones towards Saudi Arabia’s Dammam airport, an early-warning radar in Jizan and a military transport aircraft at Jizan airport.

There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia.

The reported drone attack adds to concerns following a series of Houthi attacks on Saudi targets. The group has repeatedly launched ballistic missiles and drones at major commercial airports, military facilities and Saudi Aramco’s oil infrastructure.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement that the group had carried out coordinated strikes targeting infrastructure from Saudi Arabia’s western coast to its eastern region.

The missiles and drones targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, as well as regional airports in Abha and Najran, during October.

Saudi Arabia had earlier suspended flight operations following Houthi attacks but has since partially resumed services, including domestic flights and international flights operated by Saudi national carriers, according to AFP.

Houthis advance to within 80 km of Aden

Yemen’s Houthis have advanced to within 80 km of Aden, the main stronghold and temporary capital of the country’s internationally recognised government, four military sources told Reuters on Monday.

The advance brings the Houthis closer to Aden than at any point since the early months of the war in 2015, when they briefly entered the city before being driven out.

The latest offensive has opened a volatile new front in the wider US-Israeli war on Iran, drawing both the Houthis and Saudi Arabia deeper into the regional conflict.

The Houthis have escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen’s government, while the Saudi-led coalition has intensified strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen.

The violence has shattered a 2022 UN-brokered truce that had largely halted major attacks in a war that began in 2014, when the Houthis drove the government from Sanaa.

Advance threatens key route

The Houthi advance threatens strategic positions along the main road linking Aden with the besieged city of Taiz, a vital route through southwestern Yemen.

It follows a broader offensive that began in September, when the Houthis advanced along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and seized territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, one of the world’s most important shipping lanes and a key route for Saudi oil exports to Asia.

The advance could allow the Houthis to outflank government forces along the mountain range overlooking the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the military sources said. Government troops had expelled Houthi fighters from the area only weeks earlier.

Houthi attacks on Aden, the government’s temporary capital since 2015, have also intensified in recent weeks. The group struck Aden airport on Wednesday after warning people to evacuate, while the presidential palace was also hit in October.

Fighting underway on Monday

Fighting between the Houthis and government forces was underway on Monday at a military camp near the entrance to Tur al-Bahah district, one of the main approaches to Aden. The camp is about 50 km from the provincial capital of Lahj and 80 km from Aden.

The Houthis launched an assault on government positions in Al-Maqatirah three days ago and have since taken control of the entire district, the sources said. The mountainous area overlooks the road linking Taiz to Aden. The Houthis forced government troops to retreat towards Tur al-Bahah, they said.

Houthi official Hamid Rizq posted a video that Reuters could not immediately verify, saying it showed the group’s fighters entering Souq al-Rabouh in Maqatirah district.

That route has been the last remaining link between government-held territory and Taiz during the war.

Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, has been encircled since early October, when the Houthis cut its main road south to Aden. The siege has displaced more than 100,000 people and caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine.