Saudi Arabia and Yemen's pro-Iran Houthi rebels are fighting near all-out war over control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea. With the Strait of Hormuz virtually blocked and even Saudi Arabia's main crude exports under threat, international oil prices neared $100 a barrel.
On the 8th (local time), according to Reuters and others, the Houthis attacked four southern Saudi cities—Khamis Mushait, Abha, Najran and Jizan—with drones and missiles.
A Saudi air base and refining and power facilities of the state oil company Aramco were also among the targets. Saudi authorities said at least 73 people were injured, including women and children.
It was the largest attack aimed at mainland Saudi Arabia since the war between the United States and Iran began in Feb. NASA satellite images captured thick black smoke billowing from the Jizan refinery and the Abha oil distribution facility.
The Saudi-led coalition immediately launched retaliatory airstrikes. Saudi fighter jets struck Juba in eastern Sanaa, the Yemeni capital held by the Houthis, and the southwestern Taiz region.
Turki al-Maliki, Spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, said it would "respond firmly to deter the terrorist militia."
Earlier, the Saudi military carried out successive airstrikes on rebel strongholds across Yemen to stop the Houthis from seizing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Houthis said Saudi forces carried out 121 attacks over three days on Marib, Al Bayda, Al Hudaydah, Taiz and Al Jawf.
The Houthis said the central prison in Al Hazm, Al Jawf Province, was also attacked, causing numerous casualties, including women and children who were there for visits.
The Yemeni civil war, which had been in a lull for years, flared again after the Houthis declared the end of a truce on the on the last month. As the Houthis ramped up military operations to strengthen control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces also launched large-scale ground offensives on multiple fronts to retake rebel-held areas.
AFP, citing Houthi and Yemeni government sources, reported that more than 500 people were killed over the past week. It counted 216 Yemeni government troops and 278 Houthi fighters dead, with at least 29 civilian fatalities.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 18,500 displaced people have fled along Yemen's west coast in the past three days alone.
Clashes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, coupled with military sparring between the United States and Iran in the Gulf, are heightening jitters in the global energy market. On the 8th, Brent crude rose to as high as $99.46 a barrel, approaching the $100 mark.