Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claim new attacks on Saudi Arabia

CAIRO — Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen announced additional assaults on neighboring Saudi Arabia as the Saudi-backed Yemeni authorities described the rebels' rapid advance along the Red Sea coast as a "painful" development in a new front of the Iran conflict. The Houthis' seizure of a significant port city and an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, within recent days has raised concerns among markets and Yemeni civilians who dread the prospect of a resurgence of civil war.

The Houthis asserted more strikes using missiles and drones against Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen's internationally recognized government. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesperson, asserted in a statement that they targeted a military base in Sharurah province in Saudi Arabia's Najran region, though he did not provide proof or specify when the attack took place.

The Saudi civil defense reported overnight that a projectile landed in al-Tawwal governorate near the Yemen border along the Red Sea, causing injury to two individuals and damage to a mosque and several other buildings. The statement attributed the attack to the Houthis.