Saudi-Backed Yemeni Forces Escalate Strikes on Houthis
Saudi-Backed Yemeni Forces Escalate Strikes on Houthis
The News
Yemeni government forces backed by Saudi Arabia stepped up attacks on the Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Wednesday as an oil crisis escalated, The Washington Times reported.
The push comes a day after Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a Houthi drone before it entered the airspace over Mecca, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The escalation has revived a question across the region and in Washington: who, if anyone, is prepared to stop the Houthis.
Timeline
Saudi Arabia says a Houthi drone was destroyed before entering Mecca's airspace, around sunset, the Jerusalem Post reported. It described the strike as the latest in a run of Houthi attacks on the kingdom.
Yemeni government forces supported by Saudi Arabia accelerate attacks on the Houthis, The Washington Times reported, with an oil crisis escalating alongside the fighting.
Reactions
Writing for the Jerusalem Post, analyst Seth J. Frantzman argued Saudi Arabia is increasingly threatened by the Houthis, pointing to the drone intercepted near Mecca as evidence the group is reaching deeper into the kingdom.
In the New York Post, Bridget Toomey argued the attacks show Iran's desperation: Tehran "saw its leverage slipping away — and expanded the battlefield to attack the United States and its allies from a different angle."
What's Next
The Saudi-backed offensive in Yemen is ongoing, and the sources describe the Houthi campaign against the kingdom as continuing rather than concluded. The open questions are whether the Houthis strike Saudi targets again, and whether the United States takes a larger role against them.
More
The Frank is working from a thin public record on Wednesday's fighting: the sources above establish that the Saudi-backed offensive accelerated and that a drone was intercepted near Mecca, but do not give casualty figures, locations of the strikes, or the scale of the oil disruption. We will report those details when they are confirmed.
Poll
Should the United States take a bigger military role against the Houthis?
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