Airstrikes target Houthi reinforcements in Marib and Al-Jawf; Houthis announce targeting Aramco facilities

 

 Yemeni state television announced on Saturday that airstrikes targeted Houthi reinforcements in the central and northern provinces of Marib and Al-Jawf, while the Houthis announced they had targeted Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia.

Yemen TV (the official television channel) said: “Airstrikes target reinforcements for the terrorist Houthi militias in Marib and Al-Jawf.”

The channel did not mention who carried out the raids, and no comment was issued by the Houthis.

Two Yemeni military officials also said that the Yemeni government's air force launched raids on Houthi missile and drone launch sites and weapons depots in the provinces of Marib and Al-Jawf along the front line with the group.

The Yemeni government's air force launched airstrikes on Houthi missile and drone launch sites and weapons depots.

The officials added that the raids were among the first offensive operations launched by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government against the Houthis amid renewed violence in the conflict that erupted more than a decade ago after the collapse of a four-year truce between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.

In contrast, Yahya Saree, the military spokesman for the Houthis in Yemen, said in a statement on Saturday that the group had carried out operations targeting facilities belonging to the Saudi oil giant Aramco in Yanbu and Jazan.

Saree added that the group’s forces “carried out two qualitative military operations; the first targeted sensitive targets belonging to Aramco facilities in Jazan, with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, while the second operation targeted sensitive targets belonging to Aramco in Yanbu, with a number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones.”

He claimed that the two operations “successfully achieved their objectives, and the strikes were accurate and direct,” without providing further details about the nature of the targets or the extent of the damage.

The Houthi spokesman confirmed the continuation of what he described as the “naval blockade” on Saudi Arabia, saying that it comes “in response to its counter-aggression and its unjust blockade that has continued for 12 years,” as he put it.

He vowed to expand the group’s movements and escalate its actions “based on developments in the situation during the coming hours and days,” according to him.

While there was no immediate comment from Aramco regarding the Houthi statement, the Saudi Civil Defense had previously announced, in separate statements, that it had issued three consecutive alerts in Yanbu and one alert in Jazan via the National Early Warning Platform for Emergencies, without mentioning Aramco.

Residents were urged to move to safe places inside buildings and stay away from windows and open areas, before the danger was declared over later.