SANAA: Saudi Arabia vowed on Tuesday to respond "firmly" to attacks by Yemen's Ansar Allah, after the fighters wounded 13 people in the kingdom in an assault using ballistic missiles and drones.
The Ansar Allah have been engaged in renewed fighting with Saudi-backed government forces since Yemen's civil war reignited in July, when the group declared a maritime blockade on Riyadh and began targeting its ships in the Red Sea.
They seized control of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab Al Mandab Strait last week, which has become vital as the wider US-Iran war chokes the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia issued attack alerts on Tuesday for Mecca — the holy city's first of the Middle East war — and Jeddah and Taif governorates, before quickly cancelling them.
The Saudi civil defence had earlier issued short-lived air-raid alerts in six regions.
The Ansar Allah have also targeted the oil infrastructure of Saudi Arabia, the world's leading crude exporter, pushing global oil prices above the $100 threshold.
An Ansar Allah strike in western Yemen on Monday killed eight government soldiers, according to two military sources.
The group also claimed a new large-scale attack using "dozens of ballistic missiles and drones" against King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, in southern Saudi Arabia.
The Riyadh-led coalition confirmed on Tuesday there had been missile and drone attacks the previous day on Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, reporting 13 civilians wounded and damage to seven houses and two vehicles.
Saudi Arabia responded with more than 50 strikes, as it had the day before, according to Ansar Allah.
As attacks continue, the United Nations Security Council was due to meet on Tuesday to discuss the Ansar Allah's offensive, diplomatic sources said.
The coalition said it would deal with the attacks "firmly to protect the sovereignty of the Kingdom" and would take "all necessary operational measures to deter this... hostile and extremist approach".
While Saudi Arabia has conducted dozens of air strikes on Ansar Allah-held areas, it has failed so far to deter the fighters' lightning offensive.
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el Sisi on Tuesday.
US media reported last week that President Donald Trump had rejected a personal request from the Saudi crown prince to intervene in the war.
Hazem al Assad from Ansar Allah's politburo said the "Yemeni response will continue and escalate as long as they (Saudi Arabia) persist in their aggression against our people".
The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that over 100,000 people have been internally displaced by the renewed Yemen conflict and thousands more have fled by sea to Djibouti. — AFP
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