Yemeni drones, missiles hit Aramco refineries, military sites in Saudi Arabia

Yemeni armed forces and allied Popular Committees fighters have launched fresh attacks on targets deep in Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the kingdom’s ongoing aggression on their country.

Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree said that 17 drones and ballistic missiles were used in a operation against Saudi Arabia on Monday.

Aramco refineries in Jubail and Jeddah were hit with 10 drones of Samad-3 type as part of the operation, he said.

According to the spokesman, “sensitive military targets” in the Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait and Jizan were hit with five Qasef-2K UAVs as well as two ballistic missiles of Badr 1 type.

The operation, which took place on Sunday evening and continued until dawn, hit its targets “successfully”, he added.

Saree stressed that the retaliatory attacks will continue as long as the Saudi aggression and blockade persist.

Jeddah airport shut down due to military action: Report

Earlier Monday, an international airport in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah was temporarily closed due to a military activity in the vicinity of the city, an aviation news website saya, with Yemen warning that the kingdom uses its airports for military purposes.

Simple Flying reported on Monday that flights due to arrive in King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah are diverting to other airports around Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-led coalition against Yemen claimed on Sunday that it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile, and six drones launched by Yemeni troops towards the kingdom.

Yemeni troops on Sunday carried out drone attacks against military aircraft hangars at Jizan airport, also known as King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz airport, in the kingdom’s southern Jizan region and King Khalid air base in Asir in retaliation for the Saudi aggression.

Jeddah is about 800 kilometers from the Yemeni border.

Last February, a member of Yemen's Ansaruallh movement said Saudi Arabia uses its airports across the kingdom to launch deadly aerial attacks on Yemen, making them "legitimate targets" of the war-torn country's retaliation strikes.

“We advise airlines not to use Saudi airports because they are used for military purposes in the aggression and blockade on Yemen,” Supreme Political Council member Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said in a tweet on February 10.

Saudi Arabia, backed by the US and its other regional allies, launched a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of Yemen's former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement.

The offensive and a simultaneous siege that the invaders have been imposing on the country have led to the death of tens of thousands of Yemenis.

Yemen’s al-Masirah television network reported on Sunday that Saudi border guards had shot dead a civilian off Alrko area in the border district of Monabeh in Yemen’s Sa’ada Province.

Yemen’s forces have pledged to sustain their retaliatory measures as long as the invaders and their supporters continue the war and their siege.

The reprisal attacks have been targeting hugely sensitive and strategic spots across the kingdom, including targets resting in the heart of the capital Riyadh, oil production facilities belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco, and Saudi military installations.

Yemeni forces score victories in Ma’rib

Yemeni armed forces and allied Popular Committees fighters “have made progress” in the battle against Saudi-backed mercenaries in the strategic city of Ma’rib, militants loyal to Yemen's pro-Riyadh former government said Sunday.

Agence France-Presse reported that the battle between Yemeni troops, and militants loyal to Yemen's former president was raging on three fronts in Ma’rib.

Pro-Hadi military sources told AFP that Yemeni forces had intensified their offensive to retake Ma’rib, adding the battle had left at least 123 killed on both sides in the past 48 hours.

One of the sources said the Yemeni forces "are launching simultaneous attacks" in the areas of Kassara and al-Mashjah, northwest of the city, and Jabal Murad in the south.

"They have made progress on the Kassara and al-Mashjah fronts, but they have been thwarted on the Jabal Murad front," he said.

The advances came while the Saudi warplanes launched airstrikes that failed to halt the Yemeni operations.

Another source claimed that the air raids had "destroyed 12 military vehicles, including four tanks and a cannon" belonging to fighters from Yemen’s popular committees.

Since February, the Yemeni forces have been pushing to liberate Ma’rib, the last northern stronghold of Saudi-backed militants and the capital of an oil-rich region.

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