Saudi-led coalition and Houthi forces launch mutual military strikes

On October 26, Xinhua News Agency reported from Riyadh/Kuwait City that Turki Al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, stated in a statement on the morning of the 26th that the coalition had struck military targets within the areas controlled by the Houthi armed group in Yemen, in response to repeated attacks launched by the organization.

The statement said that this operation destroyed five tunnels used for storing ballistic missiles, four ballistic missile launch platforms, and one missile warehouse. The operation targeted Houthi defenses, troop assembly points, and military equipment along the front lines within Yemen. The coalition will continue to take deterrent military measures against the Houthi armed group.

Earlier on the 26th, Al-Maliki stated on social media that the coalition intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the Houthi armed group towards Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. In the early hours of that day, Xinhua reporters heard multiple explosions in the downtown area of Riyadh.

According to reports from the Houthi-controlled Masirah TV on the 26th, the capital of Yemen, Sana'a, was subjected to airstrikes by Saudi warplanes that morning. Local residents told Xinhua reporters that loud explosions were heard in multiple areas of Sana'a. It is currently unclear the specific locations that were attacked and the casualties and property damage incurred.

The military spokesperson for the Houthi armed group, Yahya Saree, issued a statement on social media early on the 26th, claiming that the Houthis launched a ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that day, and the missile "accurately hit" the airport.

The statement said that the Houthi armed group launched multiple drones at oil pumping stations along the east-west oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia. The Houthis also attacked the Saudi-supported military assembly points and weapon depots in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden and the neighboring Lahij province.

Saree stated that the Houthi armed group used multiple ballistic missiles in the aforementioned attacks. The assaults resulted in dozens of casualties, with several military vehicles and multiple weapon depots destroyed.

Recently, the intensity of mutual attacks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi armed group has increased. At the same time, clashes between the Houthis and the Saudi-supported Yemeni government forces have also intensified across multiple fronts.