Saudi Arabia foils Houthi attack in kingdom's southwest

By Ahmed al-Masri

RIYADH (AA) - Saudi forces thwarted a terrorist attempt to blow up a gas station and oil distribution plant belonging to state-run oil company Aramco in the southwestern Jazan region, the Saudi Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

The ministry accused Yemen’s Shia Houthi militia of standing behind the attempt, saying “the Houthis threaten the security of waterways and offshore facilities," the official Saudi Press Agency quoted ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki as saying.

"On Tuesday morning, border guards in central Jazan thwarted a terrorist attempt to blow up the plant with a bomb-laden motorboat," he said.

"The boat was spotted coming from a small island in Yemeni waters,” he noted. "When Saudi Royal Navy forces inspected the vessel, they found it was packed with explosives."

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya news channel reported that aircraft from a Saudi-led coalition had destroyed a boat dispatched by the Houthis that had tried to enter Saudi territorial waters off the coast of Jazan.

Yemen’s Houthi group, for its part, has yet to comment on the reports.

In February, two Saudi sailors were killed when Houthi militiamen reportedly attacked a Saudi frigate on patrol in the Red Sea, according to Saudi-led coalition officials.

Yemen has remained in turmoil since 2014, when the Houthis overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country, forcing members of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government to temporarily flee to Riyadh.

The following year, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a major air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s pro-Saudi government.