Yemen's Houthis said on Wednesday that they had neither launched drones toward the Saudi holy city of Medina nor conducted military operations toward Saudi Arabia, refuting earlier claims from the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, Reuters reported. The denial came from the Iran-aligned group's military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, after the coalition said it had intercepted drones over Medina and the Eastern region.
The Houthis had warned airlines this month against using Saudi airspace as they intensified attacks on the kingdom, the world's largest oil exporter, saying only the airspace over Islam's holy cities of Mecca and Medina would be exempted. Despite that warning, the group has struck Riyadh's international airport and state oil giant Saudi Aramco in recent weeks, disrupting flights and oil exports, according to Reuters.
Renewed fighting in recent weeks ended a 2022 UN-brokered truce that had largely halted cross-border attacks between the Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen's internationally recognised government, and the Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa. The escalation has opened another front in the US-Israeli war on Iran, Reuters reported.
Within Yemen itself, the Houthis claimed an attack on Wednesday on a military camp near the airport in the southern city of Aden, where the Yemeni government is based, while a government military source and a local official told Reuters the group also attacked Riyan airport in the southeastern coastal city of Mukalla. A Houthi missile attack on a government security forces training camp in Yemen's Shabwa province on Monday killed 73 people, in the most serious fighting between the sides since the truce collapsed.
The fighting inside Yemen has also intensified. The Houthis claimed an attack on Wednesday on a military camp near the airport in the southern city of Aden, where the Yemeni government is based, while a government military source and a local official told Reuters the group also attacked Riyan airport in the southeastern coastal city of Mukalla. A Houthi missile attack on a government security forces training camp in Yemen's Shabwa province on Monday killed 73 people, in the most serious fighting between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis since the 2022 truce collapsed.