Saudi-led coalition dismisses Houthi claim

The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognised government has dismissed the Houthis' claims of targeting Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh as misleading. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki made the remarks on Saturday after the Houthis claimed ballistic missile and drone attacks on an Aramco oil facility near Riyadh.

The Houthis said the assault caused large fires as fighting between the Houthis and government forces intensifies in Yemen. However, al-Maliki claimed that the Houthis are attempting to divert attention from the scale of the losses and the growing public anger against them.

The development comes after the Yemeni forces executed 257 precision targeting operations against Houthi sites, movements, and military capabilities on Saturday, according to Colonel Majed Abdullah al-Nazili, spokesman for Yemen's internationally recognised government forces.

Initial estimates indicate that the operations killed at least 700 Houthi rebels, al-Nazili said. The Saudi-led coalition also carried out 97 precise targeting operations against Houthi reinforcements on the Tor al-Baha front and the Taiz axis on Sunday.

The fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces has intensified since a fragile 2022 truce collapsed in July, displacing hundreds of thousands of people since then. The Houthis seized the port city of Mocha and strategic islands in the Bab al-Mandeb strait in mid-September.

Yemen has been at war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, forcing the Yemeni government to retreat to Aden. Al-Maliki said the Houthis' ties to external agendas have brought chaos and devastation to Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition's armed forces used warplanes, drones, artillery, missiles, and snipers in their operations against the Houthis. The coalition's actions are part of an ongoing effort to support Yemen's internationally recognised government.