Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claim new attacks on Saudi Arabia

CAIRO (AP) — Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen overnight claimed new attacks on neighboring Saudi Arabia , as Yemen's Saudi-backed government described the rebels' swift advance along the Red Sea coast as a “painful” development in a new front in the Iran war.

The Houthis' capture of a key port city and an island on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait , a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, in recent days has alarmed markets and Yemeni civilians who fear a return to devastating civil war.

Overnight, the Houthis claimed more attacks with missiles and drones on Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen's internationally recognized government that's been fighting the rebels.

A Houthi military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed in a statement that they targeted a military base in Sharurah province in Saudi Arabia's Najran region. He didn’t provide evidence or say when the attack occurred.

The Saudi civil defense overnight said a projectile fell in al-Tawwal governorate near the border with Yemen along the Red Sea, injuring two people and damaging a mosque and several other buildings. The statement blamed the Houthis. It also said sirens went off in Sharurah province but didn’t report casualties or damage.

There was no Saudi statement Sunday on any new attacks targeting the Houthis, who have been hitting Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping as part of a recently declared blockade.

While the rebels have said there is no threat to other commercial shipping, markets remain wary and oil prices have risen again.

A senior government official in Yemen said its forces will return to the Red Sea coast and fight back, after people fleeing the Houthi advance told The Associated Press they saw forces withdrawing and urging people to run.

Sultan al-Arada, a member of the ruling presidential council, described the collapse of government forces in the port city of Mokha and elsewhere on Yemen’s west coast as “painful and regrettable.”

Al-Arada, also governor of central Marib province, said in the televised interview aired late Saturday that forces “are currently regrouping and will return to the battle in one form or another.”

On Friday, a senior military official with Yemen’s internationally recognized government blamed “lack of coordination” between Yemen’s army and multiple allied militias, saying it gave the Houthis “a priceless opportunity.”

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t allowed to speak to the media, also said they were stunned that the Saudi air force didn't act to prevent the capture of Mokha, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the strait.

The rebels’ rapid advance has been a major setback both to Yemen’s internationally recognized government and Saudi Arabia, which have been battling the Houthis for 12 years. The latest escalation threatens a 2022 ceasefire.

The advance also puts the Iran-backed rebels just 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the U.S. military base in Djibouti, on the other side of the Bab el-Mandeb. It's the main U.S. base in Africa and one of several foreign military bases in Djibouti, including those of China, France and Japan.

The small Horn of Africa nation is already seeing the arrival of Yemenis making the perilous crossing of the strait. More than 2,000 people have reached Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration said Sunday.

Djibouti's Economy and Finance Minister Ilyas M. Dawaleh, said on X that the country's navy, coast guard and other specialized agencies were conducting rescue operations and providing emergency assistance.

Associated Press writer Omar Farouk in Mogadishu, Somalia, contributed to his report.