Gamachu Hordofa

[Addis Standard @addisstandard]

#Houthis claim attacks on Aramco facility, #Saudi airbase as #Bab_al_Mandeb sees little commercial traffic

#Yemen’s #Iran-aligned Houthi group on Wednesday claimed it had launched missile and drone attacks against a Saudi Aramco facility in Yanbu and the Khamis Mushait airbase in southern Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group targeted the Yanbu facility with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, claiming the strikes caused fires and widespread destruction. He also said ballistic missiles were fired at the Khamis Mushait airbase.

#Saudi_Arabia has not confirmed the attacks or the reported damage, and the claims could not be independently verified.

The claims come amid a sharp escalation in Saudi-Houthi hostilities and growing disruption risks along the Red Sea. Earlier on Wednesday, an Al Jazeera team reporting from the Bab al-Mandeb Strait said there was little sign of commercial shipping in the strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Reporting from the strait, the outlet said its team was positioned at the point where the #Red_Sea meets the #Gulf_of_Aden, with #Djibouti to the east and Yemen to the west.

The Bab al-Mandeb is a critical maritime chokepoint for shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Reduced commercial traffic there, alongside attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure, has raised concerns about the widening risks to regional trade and oil flows.

The Houthi claims also follow recent attacks and disruptions involving Saudi energy infrastructure and the East-West pipeline, which carries crude to Yanbu for export through the Red Sea.

[Gamachu Hordofa @GamachuHordofa]

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[Gamachu Hordofa @GamachuHordofa]

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