Saudi Arabia says 2 children injured in Yemen rebel attacks

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – Saudi Arabia said Sunday two children were injured in rebel drone attacks from neighboring Yemen.

Saudi air defense intercepted and destroyed three drones and three ballistic missiles fired by Houthi rebels towards Saudi territories, Defense Ministry spokesman Turki al-Maliki said in a statement.

He said two children were injured and 14 houses sustained minor damage from shrapnel in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia.

The spokesman vowed to take “all necessary measures to protect Saudi territories and halt these cross-border hostile assaults with a view to protecting civilians and civilian areas”.

The Houthi group, for its part, said the attacks targeted oil facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco in Dammam.

Rebel spokesman Yahya Saree said eight drones and three ballistic missiles were used in attacking Aramco facilities.

He added that Houthi rebels also attacked Aramco facilities in Jeddah, Najran and Jazan.

The Houthi group, backed by Iran, regularly announces rocket and drone attacks on Saudi territories, saying they are a reaction to the Saudi-led coalition’s assault on Yemen.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthis overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict has claimed more than 233,000 lives.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara