Saudi remains committed to Yemen offensive

Saudi Arabia yesterday reaffirmed that it would continue its operations in Yemen in spite of a Houthi attack on its frigate last week, AFP reported.

The Saudi Press Agency announced that the frigate had arrived in the Saudi port of King Faisal in Jeddah on time, noting that the attack did not cause any delay.

“The frigate, which was attacked by the Houthi militia while it was on patrol in the Red Sea, has returned to Jeddah as planned,” the Saudi news agency reported.

Read: Saudi and American distress after Houthi warship attack

Saudi Arabia said last week that two sailors were killed and three wounded when the frigate was hit by a Yemeni rebel “suicide” boat off the Red Sea port of Hodeida.

In the wake of the attack, the US deployed the USS Cole to Bab Al-Mandab Strait connecting the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, a US defence official said.

Saudi Arabia leads an Arab coalition campaign against the Houthi militia and their allies, supporters of the ousted Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The campaign came after the militias controlled took control of the Yemeni capital Sana’a and forced President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi into exile.