Houthi strikes in Saudi Arabia wound 73, disrupts energy facilities

Strikes on Saudi Arabia by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels wounded 73 people, a Riyadh-led coalition said Tuesday, vowing to respond to the attacks.

Days of fighting near the Red Sea coast have left more than 300 people dead and displaced hundreds of families as the Houthis try to capture land bordering the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Houthi media Ansarollah said Tuesday the rebels hit targets in Saudi Arabia, including Abha International Airport, King Khalid air base and facilities belonging to state-owned oil giant Aramco in Abha and Jizan.

"The Terrorist Houthi Militia's senseless attacks, the latest of which targeted civilian and economic sites", resulted in "injuries to (73) civilians," the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition said in a statement.

"The Command will also take all necessary measures and actions to respond to the sources of the threat and neutralise its danger."

Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said on Tuesday that a number of energy facilities and utilities in the kingdom's southern region had been attacked by Yemen's Houthis, causing fires at several sites and temporarily halting some operations.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry also condemned the attacks, saying it will "take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty".

In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, the foreign ministry called for an "immediate halt to all forms of escalation practised by this militia" as well as Houthi attacks on shipping.

The strikes came after the Houthis accused Riyadh on Monday of carrying out strikes around Yemen, including the deadly bombardment of a prison.

The attack on the jail in Al-Hazm in the country's north killed 11 people and left 20 inmates missing under the rubble, rebel TV channel Almasirah quoted Hassan Saboula, director-general of civil defence in Jawf province, as saying.

Saba news agency, which is also affiliated with the Houthis, reported earlier that a child visiting the facility was among the dead.

The Houthis launched a broad offensive along frontlines on the western Red Sea coast in a bid to advance towards the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, experts say.

The waterway forms the southern entrance to the Red Sea, a shipping artery that has become vital for Saudi oil exports during Tehran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the US-Iran war on Iran.

The war in Yemen between government forces and the Iran-backed Houthis reignited in July, following several years of calm.

The conflict, which has pitted the Houthis against the internationally recognised government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, has seen the rebels take over most of Yemen's major population centres, including the capital Sanaa.