By Mohammed Ghobari and Timour Azhari
Sept 24 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Thursday that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said were aimed at Taif in western Saudi Arabia and the Yanbu area on the Red Sea.
The Houthis later on Thursday said they had carried out attacks on what they described as "a sensitive target" in the capital Riyadh and on Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group used ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones in the two operations, adding that they had achieved their objectives.
There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of an attack on Riyadh. Saudi civil defence did not issue an emergency alert for Riyadh on Thursday.
The escalation threatens Saudi Arabia's ability to export oil through the Red Sea at a time when the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted and the kingdom's East-West pipeline is only now resuming operations after drone strikes earlier this month. The Houthis declared a naval blockade on the kingdom in July, opening a second theatre in the US-Iran war.
It was not clear whether there was any damage or casualties in either Taif or Yanbu, the main alternative route for Saudi oil, after a widespread emergency alert was issued for areas including Jeddah and the holy city of Mecca.
The attack on Yanbu followed an improvement in prospects for oil exports to resume from the terminal there. Industry sources say Saudi Arabia is building up crude pumping volumes through its East-West pipeline, which was shut on September 11 after drone attacks which Riyadh has blamed on Iraqi militia.
HOUTHI MILITANTS CLAIM ATTACK ON JAZAN FURTHER SOUTH
Saree had said earlier on Thursday that the group had attacked Saudi military sites in Jazan province bordering Yemen. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia.
Saree said the Houthis carried out the attack using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, targeting what he described as "operations rooms, command and control centres, weapons depots" in Jazan, as well as missile launch sites and military camps.
Saudi civil defence issued an emergency alert over a potential danger in Jazan on Wednesday, but it issued no alerts on Thursday.
Civil defence authorities also warned of potential danger in the northwestern province of Tabuk, near the border with Jordan — a first for the area during the latest escalation between the kingdom and the Houthis this month.
The Houthis have largely attacked southern areas of Saudi Arabia.
They seized the whole Yemeni western coast in a lightning offensive nearly two weeks ago that brought them to the shores of the Red Sea's strategic Bab el-Mandeb waterway.
FLAREUP IN YEMEN'S CIVIL WAR BROADENS MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT
The Riyadh-backed government's forces had earlier repelled overnight attacks by the Houthis on a key supply route to Yemen's third-biggest city Taiz from the southern port city of Aden where the internationally recognised administration is based, government sources said.
The Houthis have kept up pressure along a steep, winding mountain pass known as Hejat al-Abd, a lifeline for government forces and the only route for goods and residents to reach Taiz and travel abroad.
Seizing parts of the road could allow the Houthis to tighten their grip around the city and deal another blow to the government, which has struggled to regain the initiative since losing the western coast.
The fighting is the latest episode in 12 years of civil war in Yemen which had largely been frozen since a 2022 truce. The Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year in support of the internationally recognised government.
More than 700 people have been killed and thousands wounded in the latest fighting, according to the United Nations. Nearly 130,000 Yemenis have been displaced within the country, while more than 3,000 have fled by boat across the Red Sea to Africa.
(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari and Timour Azhari, Additional reporting by Jana Choukeir, Tala Ramadan, Nayera Abdallah, Yomna Ehab and Enas Alashray; Writing by Maha El Dahan and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Sanjeev Miglani)
