DUBAI: At least 73 people were injured in attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Ansar Allah, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Tuesday, vowing to respond firmly to the latest outbreak of hostilities.
The Ansar Allah, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been launching attacks towards Saudi Arabia since they declared a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, with strikes targeting its vessels in the Red Sea.
The latest escalation was "dangerous", as the Ansar Allah attacked civilian and economic entities in the world's largest oil exporter and de-facto OPEC leader, the spokesperson of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Tuesday.
"The coalition will take all necessary operational measures to deter this terrorist militia and resolutely confronts its hostile approach," Colonel Turki al-Malki said in a statement on X.
The attacks were launched on targets in the cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, it added.
On Monday the Financial Times newspaper said Aramco's Jazan oil facilities were hit in new strikes, and the damage was being assessed. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the report and Aramco has not commented.
Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said on Tuesday that a number of energy facilities and utilities in the kingdom's southern region, causing fires at several sites and temporarily halting some operations.
Iran threatened the United States with "economic warfare" on Tuesday and said it had fired an advanced missile at U.S. warships, underscoring the risks of further escalation in the war only days after both sides traded blows again.
The six-month-old war has been marked by a cycle of pauses followed by periodic flare-ups, with the U.S. last reporting attacks on Iranian targets on Saturday, when U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers. Iranian state media on Sunday reported that Iran fired the Qassem Basir missile in its attacks on several U.S. vessels.
And despite US attempts to open up the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has continued to disrupt shipping through the critical artery for global oil and gas supplies, with commodity vessel traffic slowing again this week.
The Ansar Allah had accused Riyadh on Monday of carrying out strikes around the country, including the deadly bombardment of a prison. "Yemeni drones and missiles pound the Saud, " Ansar Allah wrote on Telegram.
It said in a separate post that the strikes hit Abha International Airport, King Khalid air base and facilities belonging to state-owned oil giant Aramco in Abha and Jizan.
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