Saudi-led coalition claims to have destroyed more than 100 Houthi targets

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Saturday that it had destroyed more than 100 military targets in a “large-scale operation” against the Iran-backed group.

The conflict between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, backed by Saudi Arabia, reignited in July and has since spilled across the border into the neighbouring kingdom. “We are carrying out a large-scale operation targeting the personnel and capabilities of the Houthi terrorist militia,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said in a post on X.

In a separate statement, Maliki said the coalition had destroyed 136 military targets in areas under Houthi control. Meanwhile, the rebels’ Almasirah television channel reported that Saudi missiles struck locations in Saada governorate in northwestern Yemen.

The Houthis, who control territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, have launched drone and missile attacks on transport hubs, oil facilities and other civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude oil exporter. Riyadh said on Friday that three people were killed in attacks on its international airport the previous day, with the Houthis claiming to have targeted the facility.

Houthi media, meanwhile, reported that two people were killed in Saudi strikes on the airport in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, which is controlled by the rebels.

Saudi Arabia and forces loyal to Yemen’s government have struggled to halt the Houthi advance despite a counter-offensive aimed at retaking territory, including areas surrounding the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a strategically important passage for global shipping.