Saudi Arabia strikes key fuel depot in Yemen as conflict with Houthis escalates

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it had attacked a key fuel depot being used by Yemen’s Houthi rebels to support strikes on the kingdom’s airports and energy facilities, hours before the Iran-aligned group renewed their attacks on Riyadh and the southern region with missiles and drones.

In the latest escalation between the two sides — which follows a week of Houthi missile and drone attacks that killed at least 20 people and shut Riyadh’s main international airport — Saudi forces said they had struck Al-Sabaha Central Station, the rebels’ largest fuel distribution hub in northern Yemen, with a storage capacity of about 58,000 metric tonnes.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen claimed the Houthis were using the facility to support military operations that target sites inside the kingdom and against commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The operation came despite an earlier statement from the Houthi-controlled Yemen Oil Company that the facility held no stocks of petroleum products and that an attack would not affect fuel reserves or supplies.

The strikes killed two civilians and injured two, according to the Houthis, though the Saudi-led coalition insisted it had warned civilians to leave the area beforehand.

“This operation focused on neutralizing the capabilities the Houthi militia uses to threaten the kingdom, Yemen, the southern Red Sea and maritime corridors,” coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said in a statement.

Hours later, in what appeared to be a Houthi response, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed three cruise missiles and two drones targeting the Riyadh region and southern Saudi Arabia. At least four people were injured from falling debris, according to Saudi authorities.

Tuesday’s exchange comes amid signs the long-running conflict, which reignited this summer and intensified last month after years of relative calm, is continuing to escalate.

Earlier Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched toward its eastern province, and another aimed at Haradh near the Yemeni border. It also reported intercepting three Houthi drones north of Riyadh.

Meanwhile, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that artillery fire by the Saudi-led coalition in Saada province wounded three Yemenis and two African residents in Baqim district. It later reported that two civilians were killed and two others wounded by artillery fire on residential villages in the border district of Shada in Sadaa, and also reported strikes in Sanaa and several other provinces. CNN cannot independently verify the reports.

The conflict has been intensifying since the Houthis announced in July that — in response to what they say is retaliation for a Saudi blockade on the Yemeni capital — they would target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea as well as infrastructure inside the kingdom.

Those attacks have stepped up in recent days, including with repeated strikes on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, where 13 people were killed and more than 300 wounded on Saturday in what was the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.

Saudi Press Agency/APAImages/Shutterstock

Why billions spent on defense haven’t shielded Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks

The US, UK, Spain and Canada are among countries now warning their citizens against using the airport. Meanwhile, the US State Department on Tuesday expanded travel restrictions for US government personnel in the kingdom, saying employees now require special authorization from the chief of mission to use any airport in Saudi Arabia.

The attacks have also exposed vulnerabilities in the kingdom’s defense capabilities as it wages its air campaign in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is fighting the Houthis on the ground.

On Tuesday, the Yemeni government forces claimed to have made continued advances in the military operation, dubbed “Dawn of Yemen.” It said that in the past 24 hours its forces had carried out 2,200 strikes against Houthi positions, killing about 1,200 fighters and destroying or disabling more than 440 military vehicles and other assets. CNN could not independently verify the figures.

Meanwhile, the Houthis vowed further attacks against economic and aviation targets within Saudi Arabia, warning that they would target facilities belonging to the state-owned oil company Aramco in Riyadh and Dhahran as well as the King Khalid International Airport if Saudi forces continued attacking them.

CNN’s Eyad Kourdi contributed to the report.

沙特阿拉伯周二表示，它袭击了也门胡塞武装用来支援对沙特机场和能源设施袭击的一个重要燃料库。几个小时后，这个与伊朗结盟的组织再次用导弹和无人机袭击了利雅得和南部地区。

在双方最新升级的冲突中——此前一周，胡塞武装发动导弹和无人机袭击，造成至少 20 人死亡，并关闭了利雅得的主要国际机场——沙特军队称，他们袭击了也门北部胡塞武装最大的燃料分销中心——萨巴哈中央站，该站的储存能力约为 58,000 公吨。

沙特领导的也门联军声称，胡塞武装正在利用该设施支持针对沙特境内目标和红海商船的军事行动。

尽管胡塞武装控制的也门石油公司此前发表声明称，该设施没有石油产品库存，袭击不会影响燃料储备或供应，但此次行动仍然发生。

胡塞武装称，空袭造成两名平民死亡，两人受伤；但沙特领导的联军坚称，他们事先已警告平民离开该地区。

“此次行动的重点是消除胡塞武装用来威胁沙特阿拉伯王国、也门、红海南部和海上通道的能力，”联军发言人图尔基·马利基少将在声明中说。

数小时后，似乎是胡塞武装的回应，沙特领导的联军宣布拦截并摧毁了三枚瞄准利雅得地区和沙特南部的巡航导弹和两架无人机。据沙特当局称，至少有四人被坠落的碎片击伤。

周二的交锋正值种种迹象表明，这场旷日持久的冲突正在持续升级之际。这场冲突在今年夏天重新燃起，并在经历了多年的相对平静之后，于上个月愈演愈烈。

周二早些时候，沙特领导的联军表示，他们拦截了一枚射向其东部省份的弹道导弹，以及另一枚射向靠近也门边境的哈拉德的弹道导弹。联军还报告称，在利雅得以北拦截了三架胡塞武装无人机。

与此同时，胡塞武装控制的马西拉电视台报道称，沙特领导的联军在萨达省的炮击造成巴基姆区三名也门人和两名非洲居民受伤。该电视台随后报道称，萨达省沙达边境地区的居民村遭到炮击，造成两名平民死亡，另有两人受伤。此外，该电视台还报道了萨那和其他几个省份也遭到空袭。CNN无法独立核实这些报道。

自胡塞武装7月份宣布将袭击红海的沙特船只以及沙特境内的基础设施，以报复沙特对也门首都的封锁以来，冲突不断加剧。

近几天来，这些袭击事件愈演愈烈，其中包括对利雅得哈立德国王国际机场的多次袭击。周六，该机场遭到袭击，造成 13 人死亡，300 多人受伤，这是十多年来沙特阿拉伯遭受的最致命的袭击。

沙特通讯社/APA图片/Shutterstock

为何数十亿美元的国防开支未能保护沙特阿拉伯免受胡塞武装的袭击

美国、英国、西班牙和加拿大等国已警告其公民不要使用该机场。与此同时，美国国务院周二扩大了对在沙特阿拉伯的美国政府人员的旅行限制，称其现在需要获得使团团长的特别授权才能使用沙特阿拉伯的任何机场。

这些袭击也暴露了沙特王国在支持也门国际公认政府（该政府正在地面上与胡塞武装作战）进行空袭行动时，其防御能力的脆弱性。

周二，也门政府军声称在代号为“也门黎明”的军事行动中取得持续进展。政府军表示，过去24小时内，其部队对胡塞武装阵地发动了2200次空袭，击毙约1200名武装分子，摧毁或损坏超过440辆军用车辆及其他装备。CNN无法独立核实这些数据。

与此同时，胡塞武装誓言要对沙特阿拉伯境内的经济和航空目标发动进一步袭击，并警告说，如果沙特军队继续攻击他们，他们将袭击位于利雅得和达兰的国有石油公司沙特阿美的设施以及哈立德国王国际机场。

CNN的Eyad Kourdi对本报道亦有贡献。