Yemen's Houthi group said Tuesday it had launched four military operations against multiple targets in Saudi Arabia, as Egypt's foreign minister confirmed a day earlier that Egyptian forces have been stationed in the kingdom for months to support its defense.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement that the four operations involved ballistic missiles and drones, claiming they caused fires, damage and casualties.
Specifically, the first operation targeted King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh and several pumping stations along the kingdom's East-West oil pipeline, with Sarea claiming "direct hits" that caused fires and damage.
A second operation targeted facilities belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco in Abqaiq, a major oil processing hub in the Eastern Province, Sarea said.
The third struck Saudi-linked forces in the Al-Madaribah and Ras al-Arah areas of southern Lahj province, he added, claiming casualties without providing figures.
The fourth targeted a financial center in Riyadh, according to Sarea.
The Houthis said the operations were in retaliation for deadly Saudi airstrikes on a crowded market in southwestern Taiz province on Nov. 6, which killed at least 30 people, and on residential areas in Bani Hushaysh district, Sanaa province, on Nov. 7, which killed at least 22.
Sarea later said in a separate statement that the Saudi-led coalition had launched 109 airstrikes on capital Sanaa and other areas of Yemen over the past 24 hours, bringing the total since the Houthis and Saudi Arabia escalated their military confrontation to 4,672.
In an interview with French broadcaster France 24 aired Monday evening, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Egyptian forces have been present in Saudi Arabia for several months to support the kingdom's defense.
Abdelatty stressed that Egypt's military support is strictly defensive and limited to Saudi territory, without crossing the border into Yemen.
Responding to claims that the Houthis viewed Egypt's move as a declaration of war, Abdelatty reiterated that Cairo's role is purely defensive, adding that Egypt favors de-escalation and political solutions over military confrontation.
These developments come amid intensifying clashes between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition, alongside near-daily Saudi airstrikes across Yemen and repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks on targets inside Saudi Arabia.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of the north, prompting the coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.
Yemen's Houthis claim strikes on Saudi Arabia, Egypt confirms troop presence
