Yemeni Houthi rebels attack Saudi Aramco facilities and air force base with missiles and drones

(Cairo = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Sang-hoon = Yemen's pro-Iran rebels Houthi announced on the 16th (local time) that they had carried out large-scale missile and drone attacks on Aramco oil facilities in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, and Khamis Mushait Air Force Base.

The Houthis claimed this in an official statement released on this day, saying, "We successfully carried out two high-intensity military operations against the unjust invasion."

According to the statement, in the first operation, dozens of ballistic missiles and suicide drones were used to precisely strike Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco facilities located in Yanbu.

The rebels claimed, "It was a direct hit, causing a large fire and widespread destruction."

Yanbu is a bypass export port for loading crude oil sent by Saudi Arabia through the East-West oil pipeline after Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis claimed that in their second operation, they launched multiple ballistic missiles and accurately hit Khamis Mushait air base.

The Houthi rebels emphasized that this attack was a justified retaliation for the Saudi coalition's indiscriminate airstrikes.

The statement criticized, "The Saudi enemies, a criminal group, have continued an unjust invasion and harsh blockade against Yemen and our people for 12 years," and added, "In particular, this week, they have made their hostile actions blatant by launching more than 450 airstrikes targeting most of Yemen's provinces."

He also warned that he would not stop attacks targeting mainland Saudi Arabia.

The rebels said, "In order to protect the country and its people, we will teach the criminal Saudi Arabia a lesson they will never forget," and threatened, "We will continue military operations deep into Saudi territory, maintaining the formula of responding to blockade with blockade, and escalation to escalation, until the Saudi invasion stops and the blockade of Yemen is completely lifted."

Earlier, the Houthi rebels claimed that they shot down a Saudi Arabian F-15 fighter jet over Marib Province, northeastern Yemen, but they have not yet provided evidence such as photos or videos.