Houthis say air strikes hit Yemen after Saudi Arabia vows ‘firm’ response 

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have accused Saudi Arabia of launching dozens of air attacks across Yemen, after the Saudi-led coalition promised to respond “firmly” to missile and drone attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis that wounded 13 civilians across three cities in the kingdom.

The Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government, said early on Tuesday that Houthi attacks on Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif caused minor to moderate injuries, damaging seven homes and two vehicles.

“The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will deal with these attacks responsibly and firmly to protect the sovereignty of the kingdom,” said coalition spokesperson Major-General Turki al-Maliki.

Later on Tuesday, the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah (supporters of God), said Saudi Arabia launched 54 air raids across the governorates of Lahj, Taiz, al-Jawf, Marib and Hajjah in the past 24 hours.

The group said Saudi air strikes hit the government complex in Khadir district, Taiz governorate, causing injuries.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets operating from Saudi airbases in Khamis Mushait and Taif were used in the strikes and threatened retaliation.

Houthi-aligned media reported that the Saudi attacks killed three civilians, including two children, and injured at least two others in Taiz province’s Dhubab and Maqbanah districts.

Saudi Arabia has not commented publicly on the Houthi claims. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.

The attacks come after the Iran-aligned group said on Monday that it fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, targeting hangars, radar systems, runways and ammunition depots, in retaliation for Saudi air raids across Yemen.

The Houthis said in a statement on Monday that Saudi warplanes had carried out 300 air raids across Yemen over the previous five days

The exchanges of air attacks follow the Houthis’ rapid advance on the ground in western Yemen last week, with the group gaining control over much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and advancing to areas adjacent to the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The strait has become a vital waterway for energy and commercial shipping in the region as the US-Iran war has caused major disruption to the Strait of Hormuz.

The forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government said on Monday that they made advances in the contested Taiz province after retaking positions from the Houthis, and had struck the group’s fighters and equipment in Dhubab and al-Khokha on the Red Sea coast.

Al Jazeera could not independently verify battlefield claims.

Houthi and Yemeni government officials said on Monday that the Houthis had seized the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands in the southern Red Sea, about 160km (100 miles) north of the Bab al-Mandeb. Their recent advances also include Mayyun Island, at the mouth of the Red Sea.

Yemen’s more than decade-long war reignited in July, as the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and began attacking its ships in the Red Sea, threatening a 2022 United Nations-brokered ceasefire that halted large-scale violence.