Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia wounds 11 civilians, amid deadly fighting in Yemen
Times of Israel · LC · trust 60/100
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis killed at least 58 government troops in missile and drone attacks on Thursday, a military source said, and wounded 11 civilians inside Saudi Arabia itself, in one of the deadliest days of Yemen’s civil war in four years.
The attacks come as Yemen is increasingly drawn into the US-Israeli war with Iran, with the rebels stepping up attacks against both government forces and neighboring Saudi Arabia, a key US ally and supporter of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with ballistic missiles and drones in response to an alleged military buildup backed by neighboring Saudi Arabia.
The attacks killed at least 58 government troops and injured dozens, according to the military source who spoke on condition of anonymity. Medical sources had earlier spoken of 38 dead.
A military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Thursday’s attacks on troop camps were the worst in Yemen since 2022.
Yemen’s defense ministry said in a statement that its armed forces would respond to the attacks “at the appropriate place and time.”
The escalation spilled across the border on Thursday, with Saudi officials saying Houthi attacks wounded 11 civilians in the southern Najran region.
Major General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government, said early Friday the attack in southern Najran Province injured seven Saudis, one Yemeni, two Egyptians and one Pakistani national. The victims included a 4-year-old child who suffered second-degree burns.
Maliki accused the Iran-aligned Houthis of indiscriminately shelling civilian areas in violation of international humanitarian law and said the coalition would continue taking all necessary measures to protect civilians.
Iran has attacked Saudi Arabia in recent months because it hosts US military facilities. Meanwhile, Riyadh’s decade-old conflict with the Tehran-aligned Houthis has become increasingly entangled with the wider war, as Houthi actions, such as a Red Sea blockade that has disrupted Saudi oil exports, have raised the stakes of the broader regional confrontation.
A senior Saudi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Saudi, US and other Middle Eastern countries’ intelligence found that the Houthis and Iraqi militias under the supervision of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could soon launch coordinated attacks on Saudi civilian sites including energy infrastructure, ports and airports.
The senior Saudi official said the reported threats were alarming as Riyadh continued to support de-escalation and a negotiated settlement of the conflict with Iran, adding that mediation efforts appeared to be moving “in the right direction.” The official said the planned attacks could be intended to disrupt the diplomacy.
The official said Saudi-US cooperation remained “very high” at all levels, including at the operational level with US Central Command, and that Saudi Arabia was prepared to take all necessary measures to respond to any aggression.
The Houthis on Tuesday claimed responsibility for an attack on Najran airport, part of a broader escalation in which the Iran-aligned group has struck Saudi military, infrastructure and shipping targets.
On July 29, Saudi Arabia said it carried out strikes with US Central Command against Iran-backed groups in Iraq after blaming them for drone attacks on its oil facilities. Iraqi militias said they would respond to the Saudi strikes.
Riyadh is seeking to deepen security cooperation with key allies while warning of an expanding regional threat from Iran-backed groups. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were due to sign a defense agreement in the kingdom on Friday, two regional sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Details of the agreement were not immediately available.
Regional powers are looking to strengthen security ties against a backdrop of war between the United States and Iran, which has drawn in Gulf states and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
“It was under discussion for a long time, but the latest developments in the region expedite it,” a source close to the Saudi military and government told AFP.
Saudi Arabia already has a defense cooperation agreement with Pakistan. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir arrived in the kingdom on Thursday for a visit lasting until Saturday.
“Although taking place against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Gulf, the visit will carry significance beyond the immediate crisis and short-term considerations,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman, Tahir Andrabi, said on Thursday.
The three countries have been the subject of months of speculation about a possible strategic alliance.
Pakistan has sought to mediate efforts to end the US-Iran war, while Turkey has played a diplomatic role in negotiations aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had already announced a joint defense pact in 2025, a move that drew attention because Pakistan is the Muslim world’s only nuclear-equipped state.
Last month, The Times of Israel revealed that Munir leveraged a joint oil transport venture with IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi to secure an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia under which Tehran agreed to halt attacks against the Gulf kingdom.
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