Apparent Houthi attacks early Tuesday morning triggered warnings in six Saudi cities, including Yanbu, the kingdom’s main Red Sea oil port, and Riyadh warned it would react “firmly” to the Iran-backed rebels’ ongoing missile and drone attacks.

Saudi Civil Defense said later on Tuesday the danger had passed in Jeddah, Abha, Jazan, AlUla and Taif, and that the alerts were lifted.

The Houthis have been engaged in renewed fighting with Saudi-backed government forces since Yemen’s civil war reignited in July, when the group declared a maritime blockade on Riyadh and began targeting its ships in the Red Sea.

The group seized control last week of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which has become vital as the wider US-Iran war chokes the Strait of Hormuz, in a significant blow to Yemeni government forces.

It has also targeted the oil infrastructure of Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading crude exporter, pushing oil prices above the $100 threshold.

Also Tuesday, the Riyadh-led coalition confirmed there had been missile and drone attacks the previous day on Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, reporting 13 wounded.

The Houthis had claimed a new “large-scale” attack using “dozens of ballistic missiles and drones” against the King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, in southern Saudi Arabia.

A Khamis Mushait resident said he heard “intense blasts” that left fires burning for a “long time.”

“Honestly, we couldn’t sleep at all.”

Riyadh responded with more than 50 strikes, as it had the day before, according to the Houthis.

The coalition said it would deal with the attacks “firmly to protect the sovereignty of........

© The Times of Israel