Houthis warn of escalated attacks on Saudi Arabia after airstrikes on Sanaa
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Yemen's Houthi group issued a statement warning it may escalate attacks on Saudi Arabia's airports, ports and other infrastructure, and will retaliate against any country that joins this conflict, after a new wave of airstrikes hit Sanaa, Yemen's capital under Houthi control, along with several northern provinces on the night of Tuesday, October 6. The Houthis' Al-Masirah television station said the strikes targeted various areas in Sanaa as well as Amran, Saada and Al-Jawf provinces, and described the incident as an invasion by Saudi Arabia. Residents told Xinhua they heard several loud explosions across the capital, but the targets and the extent of the damage were not immediately clear. The strikes came amid a sharp escalation in fighting between the Houthi rebels and Yemeni government forces backed by Saudi Arabia, particularly in areas near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic point in southwestern Yemen. Muhammad Al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi political council, said in an interview broadcast on Lebanon's Al-Mayadeen television that government forces managed to break through Houthi defenses in their latest advance on Monday, October 5. However, he claimed the advance had since been halted. Yemen has faced conflict since late 2014, after the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to launch a military intervention in 2015 in support of Yemen's internationally recognized government.