ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Ansarullah movement, better known as Houthis, said Monday that it struck Saudi military personnel and military facilities, adding that it targeted a Saudi oil tanker named "Amzan" in the Red Sea with a ballistic missile amid ongoing hostilities.
A drone and missile attack on “Saudi troop gatherings” northeast of Yemen have “resulted in dozens of casualties, including officers and commanders, and the destruction and burning of several weapons depots,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a post on X.
“A large Saudi military convoy loaded with military equipment” in central-eastern Yemen were targeted with “a number of ballistic missiles and drones," he said, claiming that “the attack resulted in the burning and destruction of more than ten weapons trucks entering from Saudi territory to target the Yemeni people.”
In mid-July the Aden-based, Saudi backed internationally recognized government (IRG) in Yemen disabled the runway at the Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing.
In response, the Houthis declared the end of de-escalation and launched ballistic missiles and drones targeting Abha International Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
In a separate incident, the Houthis on Monday claimed an attack on a Saudi oil tanker, according to the same statement.
“The hit was direct and precise, causing a fire on board and forcing several other vessels in the area to flee,” Saree noted, framing the strike as a “part of enforcing the [Houthi] armed forces’ decision to impose a naval blockade” on Riyadh.
The Houthi claim came hours after maritime security monitor United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said a tanker struck by an "unknown projectile" caught fire off Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast.
"The Company Security Officer reported a tanker has been struck by [an] unknown projectile causing a fire to the vessel on the main deck," UKMTO reported.
Riyadh and the IRG have been engaged in tit-for-tat attacks with the Houthis since escalations ramped up in July.
The Houthis announced a unilateral blockade on Saudi ships transiting through the Red Sea, justifying the action as a “blockade-for-bloacke” response in reference to what it claims is a Saudi siege over its ports - an accusation categorically denied by Riyadh.
In early August, direct ground clashes and cross-border escalation erupted in which Houthi forces launched simultaneous ground-and-drone offensives on IRG military bases in Hadramawt and Marib provinces in eastern and central Yemen, killing at least 30 IRG troops.
Meanwhile, IRG forces deployed new rotary-wing attack drones along with heavy artillery, targeting Houthi positions across frontlines. IRG military commands reported killing over 200 Houthi fighters during these multi-front engagements that lasted for four days.
