SANAA — Yemen's Houthis announced Sept. 13 that Saudi Arabia had conducted 58 airstrikes against their positions within a 24-hour period, following a recent drone and missile attack by the group on a Saudi military installation.
Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, said via Telegram: "The criminal Saudi enemy has carried out 58 airstrikes in the past 24 hours."
Earlier on Sept. 13, the Houthis reported using drones and missiles to target the Sharurah military base in southern Saudi Arabia. Saree wrote on X that the attack aimed at "weapons depots and command and control centres that are managing the aggression against our nation and people."
This week, the Houthis launched their heaviest missile and drone attack in years against Saudi Arabia, setting oil sites ablaze and injuring 73 people.
Saudi Arabia's civil defense agency issued alerts on Sept. 13 for the city of Abha and the region around Khamis Mushait, warning of potential attacks. The alerts were quickly lifted. Late on Sept. 12, the agency reported two people injured after a projectile fired by the Houthis fell in the Jizan region.
The Houthi-run Almasirah TV channel reported two Saudi strikes on Saada, a Houthi stronghold, on Sept. 13. The channel also cited artillery fire in the Monabbih border district within the same province. Later that day, Almasirah reported two additional Saudi strikes on a market in the northern Al-Jawf province.
The Houthis have reported more than 100 strikes against their positions since Sept. 8. Riyadh has not confirmed these claims. Historically, Saudi strikes have focused on front lines to support Yemeni government forces rather than Houthi strongholds including the capital Sanaa.
The renewed fighting began in July, when the Houthis declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia and started targeting Saudi ships in the Red Sea, ending a dormancy since a 2022 UN-brokered ceasefire.
Yemen's civil war originally started in 2014 when the Houthis captured Sanaa, forcing out the internationally recognized government. A Saudi-led coalition fought the Houthis from 2015 until the 2022 ceasefire.
