Yemen's Houthis claim strikes on Saudi oil tanker, troop concentrations

The Houthi group said Monday that it had carried out three operations targeting a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea and Saudi troop concentrations in eastern Yemen.

In a statement, the group said it had struck a Saudi oil tanker -- the Amzan -- with a ballistic missile in the northern Red Sea off the coast of Yanbu in western Saudi Arabia.

A "direct" hit had caused a fire aboard the vessel, the group said, adding that several other ships had left the vicinity in the wake of the attack.

The group also said it had conducted two other operations against Saudi troop concentrations in eastern Yemen using ballistic missiles and drones.

The first, it said, had targeted a large convoy carrying military equipment in the Al-Abr and Al-Wadiah areas of Yemen's eastern Hadramout province near the Saudi border.

More than ten trucks carrying arms from Saudi territory were damaged or destroyed in the attack, the group claimed.

According to the statement, a separate operation targeted Saudi troop concentrations in Al-Kanais, a desert area near the border between Yemen's Marib and Al-Jawf governorates.

Dozens of personnel, including commanders and officers, were killed or injured in the attack, while several weapons depots were damaged or destroyed, the group said.

In 2014, the Iran-backed Houthis overran much of the country, including Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

This was followed by several years of war between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition.

Since the eruption of the Israel-Gaza conflict in 2023, the Houthis have become increasingly involved in regional hostilities, carrying out missile attacks on Israel and Israel-linked commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The latest uptick in fighting—coupled with the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States—has revived fears of a return to full-scale conflict in the impoverished Gulf country.