Houthi militia attacks Saudi targets, Saudi Arabia responds with air strikes

The military conflict between the Yemeni Houthi militia and Saudi Arabia is apparently being waged with new intensity.

The Houthis said they launched a wave of attacks with drones and missiles that hit Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia and King Khalid Air Base in the southwest. A Houthi spokesman said facilities belonging to the Saudi state oil company Aramco in Abha and Jizan were also attacked.

The Houthis also released aerial photos showing burning trucks on the Saudi Arabian side of the Al-Wadiah border crossing.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen said 73 people were injured in the Houthi attacks on "civil and economic facilities." The spokesman did not provide any further information on the extent of the damage.

Saudi Arabia apparently responds with air strikes

However, he announced countermeasures. The military alliance will “take all necessary operational measures to deter the terrorist Houthi militia with the utmost determination.”

Part of the military response may have already taken place on Monday afternoon (local time). The Houthis reported Saudi air strikes in Al-Jawf governorate in northwest Yemen. According to the health authority controlled by the Houthis, 14 people were killed or injured.

According to the Houthis, a prison was also hit. Several prisoners were taken to a hospital. Other people are said to still be under the rubble. There were 35 inmates in the prison at the time of the attack. The information provided by both sides cannot be independently verified.

Houthis want to expand control of Bab al-Mandab

The Houthis are allied with Iran. They control large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and areas on the border with Saudi Arabia's Red Sea provinces.

The Houthis are currently trying to take over areas along the Bab al-Mandab Strait on the Red Sea. More than 300 people were killed and hundreds of families were forced to flee in days of fighting near the Red Sea coast, reports the AFP news agency.

The Saudi-led military coalition, which includes the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Egypt, supports Yemen's internationally recognized government, which now operates out of the city of Aden.

According to the United Nations, at least 150,000 people have been killed since the civil war in Yemen began in 2014. At times the country was also on the brink of famine.