Saudi-backed Yemeni forces expel Houthi rebels from several areas
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ADEN, Yemen (AP) -- Forces of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen have recaptured several key areas around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait from Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Yemeni officials said Monday, while the Houthis claimed attacks on Saudi oil facilities, airports and military bases as fighting escalated on Yemen’s western coast.
The Yemeni officials said forces allied with the internationally recognized government retook the crucial town of Dhubab just north of the strait, a vital shipping route that connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
They also captured the towns of Bab and Hadeid, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters. Witnesses said they saw government tanks and forces entering the towns.
The government push came as part of a major offensive launched early Monday under air cover by a Saudi military coalition.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesman, claimed in a pre-recorded statement that the rebels used ballistic and cruise missiles and drones in attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and an oil refinery in the Red Sea city of Rabigh.
Also attacked were Abha airport, military facilities in Khamis Mushait and other “critical sites” in the cities of Najran and Jizan, he claimed.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that it was expected that the Saudi-backed government would hit back at the rebels to reclaim territory. Asked if the coalition coordinated the action with the United States, Rubio said that Saudi Arabia and the U.S. have a defense agreement but wouldn’t offer more details.
Since the Yemeni government was ousted from some of its territory by the Houthis and the Saudis have come under attack, “they have a right to defend themselves,” Rubio said.
The U.S. has provided support to Saudi Arabia in its ongoing campaign against the Houthis, according to a regional official and a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to reporters. The support included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the offensive, said the officials.
The U.S. had supported the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis early in the Yemen war, before quitting the coalition in recent years.