Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement has obtained advanced technology with assistance from regional parties, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the group said Thursday, without identifying those parties or specifying the technology.
Major General Turki al-Malki said the Houthis had built weapons storage facilities in mountainous areas of Sanaa, Saada and Amran provinces, which were used as launch bases. The group also used tunnels and natural cavities in mountains to fire missiles, he said, according to Al Arabiya English.
Coalition forces had destroyed 127 Houthi storage facilities in mountainous areas in recent days, as well as numerous missile launchers, al-Malki said at a news conference. The coalition showed footage of strikes on tunnels, weapons depots and missile launchers, including facilities it said stored ballistic missiles near the capital, Sanaa.
Al-Malki also described a separate operation targeting facilities in Sanaa, Hodeida and Dhamar that the coalition said supported the Houthis’ military effort. He said the operation was launched in response to attacks on airports and maritime navigation.
The coalition said the sites included the al-Sabaha Central Station in Sanaa, underground fuel reserves, storage tanks and fuel transport and unloading facilities. It accused the Houthis of using civilian infrastructure and diverting resources meant for Yemen’s population to support attacks on Saudi Arabia and maritime traffic.
Al-Malki said Houthi attacks on Saudi airports had killed at least 19 people and wounded 364.
Of those, 17 people were killed and more than 330 injured in attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which he said had been targeted 20 times since October 1.
The spokesman said the Houthis had attempted to strike dozens of airports, oil facilities and ports across Saudi Arabia, warning that attacks on airports endangered the lives of thousands of civilian travellers.
Al-Malki said a total of 1,104 missiles and 1,135 drones had been launched toward Saudi Arabia since the start of military operations.
