Forces aligned with Yemen’s government on Thursday said that they had intercepted a drone headed towards Medina in Saudi Arabia, and a missile fired towards Riyadh, amid escalating fighting between them and Yemen’s Houthi group.
asserted
they → align → them
Fighting between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and Iran-aligned Houthi rebels has intensified along the country’s western Red Sea coast, along with expanding Houthi attacks on oil facilities and airports in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
asserted
Fighting → back → Arabia
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On Wednesday, Yahya Saree, the military spokesman for the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah or Supporters of God, said the group’s forces had conducted “a high-quality military operation targeting Aramco in Dhahran”, as well as strikes on Riyadh airport and a refinery in the capital.
asserted
forces → hit → capital
He added that operations “will continue in the coming days, targeting Saudi enemy airports and oil facilities”.
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operations → add → airports
A Saudi Ministry of Energy official confirmed that a building belonging to Aramco in Dhahran was hit, resulting in a “limited fire” but “no casualties or fatalities”.
asserted
building → confirm → fire
Dhahran is home to Aramco’s headquarters, a vast complex comprising numerous buildings and residential compounds.
asserted
Dhahran → comprise → buildings
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition launched strikes against the Houthi stronghold in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, which the armed group seized in 2014 and has held ever since.
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group → lead → 2014
The coalition fought the Houthis, who also seized large quantities of Yemen’s military assets, until a ceasefire was agreed in 2022.
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ceasefire → fight → 2022
That ceasefire has broken down in recent months.
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ceasefire → break → months
Reporting from Sanaa, Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry said the war has become a tit-for-tat exchange of blows.
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war → report → blows
The Iran-backed group “will continue to launch these air strikes and … its goal is to meet fire with fire – air strike for air strike, capital for capital, airport for airport, and energy facility for energy facility”.
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goal → back → facility
Which sites have the Houthis targeted in Saudi Arabia?
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Houthis → target → Arabia
Recent Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia have mainly targeted key infrastructure on the outskirts of Riyadh, but they appear to be edging closer to the city centre.
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they → target → centre
Houthi attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid international airport over the weekend killed 14 people and wounded more than 300 others.
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attacks → kill → others
Houthi attacks have also been reported on other airports, including Abha international airport in southern Saudi Arabia, where two people were killed, and on Saudi Aramco energy facilities.
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people → report → facilities
Authorities say Riyadh airport will remain shut at least until Saturday as several airlines cancelled flights, emptying the skies over the kingdom’s capital.
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airlines → say → capital
Al Jazeera’s Mawry said Saudi Arabia “has much more to lose” from tit-for-tat attacks disrupting air traffic, as Sanaa international airport has been closed for many years due to the damage it has sustained over the years of civil war.
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it → say → war
Additionally, by disrupting security, the Houthis are signalling that Saudi Arabia will suffer mounting economic costs for its involvement in Yemen.
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Arabia → disrupt → Yemen
Earlier this year, the Houthis similarly began launching strikes on Saudi-linked shipping in and around the Bab al-Mandeb strait at the entrance to the Red Sea.
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Houthis → begin → Sea
Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on this shipping route for oil exports since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in March, under fire from the United States and Israel.
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Iran → rely → States
The kingdom is set to host a major investment conference in Riyadh later this month, dubbed “Davos in the desert”, but it is now unclear whether the event will go ahead amid the attacks.
uncertain
event → set → attacks
Organisers of the Six Kings Slam tennis tournament, originally slated to begin next week in Riyadh, have announced the event will be pushed to December.
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event → slat → December
Saudi Arabia is also preparing to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034.
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Arabia → prepare → 2034
Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from the Qatari capital, Doha, said, “These military hits by the Houthi forces are meant to create a pressure campaign that is also having knock-on economic effects.”
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that → report → effects
“The Gulf Cooperation Council has become a place where these enormous events have been playing out over the past year, and if they carry on, the international implications for the global economy will continue to be negative,” he added.
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he → become → economy
What’s the situation on the ground in Yemen?
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situation → ’ → Yemen
Yemeni government forces are currently engaged in a major counteroffensive operation, called “Dawn of Yemen“, to retake coastal territory seized in recent weeks by the Houthis near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a vital maritime trade chokepoint.
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forces → engage → strait
The Saudi cabinet pledged in a meeting led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week that it “will not allow its security or freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandeb strait to be threatened”.
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security → pledge → Sea
On Wednesday, Yemeni government forces said they had carried out 2,309 “targeting operations” against the Houthis as part of their “Dawn of Yemen” military campaign.
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they → say → campaign
The forces’ spokesperson, Majeed al-Nuzaili, said the operations were conducted using combat aircraft, drones, artillery and rocket launchers, and destroyed 460 Houthi military vehicles.
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operations → say → vehicles
Government forces say they have retaken areas in Sabr al-Mawadim and al-Sarari in Taiz governorate and have repelled a large Houthi attack west of Taiz city in southwest Yemen, a government-held city that was besieged by Houthi fighters earlier this month.
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that → say → fighters
Taiz governorate includes the flat, western coastal region on the Red Sea, which contains the port city of Mocha and the Bab al-Mandeb.
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which → include → Mocha
Much of the governorate also lies within Yemen’s highlands while its capital, Taiz, is nestled between mountains.
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Much → lie → mountains
Al Jazeera’s Mawry said fighting has been so intense in the area because of its strategic value.
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fighting → say → value
“Whoever controls the altitude and gains control of the mountains controls the landscape.
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controls → control → landscape
They control the Red Sea coastlines and even the city of Taiz,” he said.
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he → control → Taiz
The internationally recognised Yemeni government has been calling for more reinforcements as well as Saudi air attacks on the positions recently taken over by the Houthis, mainly in the district of al-Misrakh, south of Taiz, and the district of at-Turbah, which are the gateways to the city of Taiz.
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which → recognise → Taiz
Mawry reported that while the Saudi-led coalition’s aerial strikes are forcing the Houthis to withdraw and retreat, allowing government forces to advance, they have not been able to gain a full hold over some of those positions.
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they → report → positions
“It is then followed by another counter-military offensive by the Ansar Allah group to retake the area.
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It → follow → area
And this is sort of the routine that we have been seeing since early September,” he said.
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he → see → September
…and 3 more, not listed.
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