Yemen’s Houthis renew strikes on Saudi Arabia as UNSC extends sanctions

Saudi-led coalition forces have said they intercepted suspected Houthi drones over Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh region and Eastern Province, as the UN Security Council agreed to extend sanctions on the Iran-allied group. Major General Turki al-Maliki, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, announced the interceptions of suspected Houthi drones on Thursday, in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted oil infrastructure and military assets in the kingdom, including a pumping station on the East-West Pipeline with a drone as well as the Yanbu oil facility on the Red Sea. Riyadh says it has rerouted about 4 million barrels of crude per day via its East-West Pipeline to Yanbu, equivalent to about 4 percent of global supply.

Saree further claimed a military cargo plane at Sharurah airport close to Yemen’s border was targeted with a drone, while a ballistic missile launched towards Khamis Mushait airbase “scored a direct hit”.