Yemen’s Houthis claim to have staged 31 operations against Saudi targets in past month

Yemen’s Ansar Allah group, also known as the Houthis, has said that its forces carried out 31 military operations against Saudi targets, including oil tankers and military assets, within the past month, Anadolu reports.

In a Wednesday social-media post, Houthi spokesman Ameen Hayyan said the operations were aimed at restricting Saudi maritime navigation, striking Saudi military deployments, and responding to alleged violations of Yemeni sovereignty.

In the period from July 20 to Aug. 19, Houthi forces targeted eight Saudi oil tankers, including five in the Red Sea and three in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, according to Hayyan.

He also said that the group had prevented 48 Saudi oil tankers from traversing regional waterways, including 14 in the Red Sea and 34 in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Hayyan also asserted that Houthi forces had conducted nine operations against targets located in the Saudi regions of Yanbu, Najran, Jizan and Abha, as well as against oil facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

The attacks, he said, were carried out in response to earlier Saudi strikes on Yemen’s Sanaa airport and Hodeidah seaport, and alleged Saudi airspace violations over Yemen’s Saada and Hajjah regions.

Other operations targeted Saudi military deployments in Yemen’s Ruwik, Al-Abr, Al-Wadiah, Marib and Mocha regions, and Saudi vessels allegedly transporting military personnel and equipment, Hayyan said.

According to the Houthi spokesman, the combined operations left hundreds of Saudi and Saudi-backed personnel killed or injured, including officers, and destroyed significant amounts of military equipment.

The group also claimed to have sunk – or otherwise neutralized – two amphibious landing ships near Mocha and more than 10 military vessels in the Red Sea.

Saudi officials, meanwhile, have yet to comment on the Houthi claims.

Hayyan went on to warn that further “escalations” by Riyadh would be met with a proportionate response.

Recent weeks have seen steadily mounting tension between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, with the latter claiming a series of drone and missile attacks on Saudi territory and energy facilities.