Alleging Houthi attack on Mecca, Saudis hit Yemen
Saudi warplanes pounded Yemen and Houthi fighters launched drones and missiles at Saudi cities, the Iran-backed movement said on Wednesday, after a lightning advance that has extended Tehran's reach in the West Asia war.
Riyadh said its air defences had shot down a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday before it entered prohibited airspace over the holy city, an attack it said crossed a "red line" of threatening shrines sacred to all Muslims. Houthi spokesperson Saree denied the group had targeted Mecca, and said the Saudi reports were a set-up for propaganda purposes.
In a sign of the worsening conflict in a new theatre, the United States tightened its travel warning for Saudi Arabia, banning government employees from travelling within 32 kilometres of the Yemen border.
Also read: US officials met Iran-backed Houthis in Oman over the weekend, sources say
The extension of the war into Yemen threatens to worsen the global energy supply shortage caused by the six-month-old US-Israeli war on Iran. The price of Brent crude hovered around $108 a barrel on Wednesday, close to its highest levels since May. The politically sensitive average retail price of diesel fuel in the United States hit another all-time high above $6.30 a gallon for the first time
The Houthis, who since last week have swept through Yemeni towns along the Red Sea coast and seized islands in the Bab el-Mandeb strait at its mouth, released battlefield video overnight of fighters seizing armoured vehicles from Saudi-backed forces. Warplanes flew overhead and huge explosions billowed into the sky from desert dunes, the video showed.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had launched fresh drone and missile strikes on the major Saudi Red Sea oil port of Yanbu, and at a southern Saudi airbase at Khamis Mushait. He did not say when the strikes had taken place. Both cities were among a wide range of locations where Saudi Arabia announced alerts on Tuesday, although there were no similar announcements on Wednesday.
Saudi officials and oil company Aramco did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Earlier, Saree said the Houthis had also shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet. No immediate evidence was presented of that incident.
Saree said the Saudis had carried out as many as 450 air strikes on Yemen this week. Officials in the Saudi-backed government that controls southern Yemen have acknowledged that their forces and those of Saudi Arabia were conducting air strikes on Houthi positions, though Riyadh has not confirmed them.
MEA Condemns Attack
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) voiced deep concern over the attack. "We are deeply concerned at the drone attack near Makkah," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "India reiterates its condemnation of attacks on the sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and of actions that endanger civilian lives and infrastructure," he said.
"The incident near Makkah is particularly concerning, given the special significance of the city to Muslims across the world," Jaiswal said.
Jaiswal further added: "We hope for the early restoration of peace and stability in the region."
Riyadh said its air defences had shot down a Houthi drone south of Mecca on Tuesday before it entered prohibited airspace over the holy city, an attack it said crossed a "red line" of threatening shrines sacred to all Muslims. Houthi spokesperson Saree denied the group had targeted Mecca, and said the Saudi reports were a set-up for propaganda purposes.
In a sign of the worsening conflict in a new theatre, the United States tightened its travel warning for Saudi Arabia, banning government employees from travelling within 32 kilometres of the Yemen border.
Also read: US officials met Iran-backed Houthis in Oman over the weekend, sources say
The extension of the war into Yemen threatens to worsen the global energy supply shortage caused by the six-month-old US-Israeli war on Iran. The price of Brent crude hovered around $108 a barrel on Wednesday, close to its highest levels since May. The politically sensitive average retail price of diesel fuel in the United States hit another all-time high above $6.30 a gallon for the first time
The Houthis, who since last week have swept through Yemeni towns along the Red Sea coast and seized islands in the Bab el-Mandeb strait at its mouth, released battlefield video overnight of fighters seizing armoured vehicles from Saudi-backed forces. Warplanes flew overhead and huge explosions billowed into the sky from desert dunes, the video showed.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had launched fresh drone and missile strikes on the major Saudi Red Sea oil port of Yanbu, and at a southern Saudi airbase at Khamis Mushait. He did not say when the strikes had taken place. Both cities were among a wide range of locations where Saudi Arabia announced alerts on Tuesday, although there were no similar announcements on Wednesday.
Saudi officials and oil company Aramco did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Earlier, Saree said the Houthis had also shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet. No immediate evidence was presented of that incident.
Saree said the Saudis had carried out as many as 450 air strikes on Yemen this week. Officials in the Saudi-backed government that controls southern Yemen have acknowledged that their forces and those of Saudi Arabia were conducting air strikes on Houthi positions, though Riyadh has not confirmed them.
MEA Condemns Attack
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) voiced deep concern over the attack. "We are deeply concerned at the drone attack near Makkah," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "India reiterates its condemnation of attacks on the sovereign territory of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and of actions that endanger civilian lives and infrastructure," he said.
"The incident near Makkah is particularly concerning, given the special significance of the city to Muslims across the world," Jaiswal said.
Jaiswal further added: "We hope for the early restoration of peace and stability in the region."
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