DOHA, September 14. /TASS/. Yemen’s Ansar Allah (Houthi) rebel movement claims to have conducted a series of ballistic missile and drone strikes on Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid Air Base in the city of Khamis Mushait.

"Yemen’s Armed Forces carried out a large-scale operation against military and infrastructure facilities, including aircraft hangars, runways, ammunition depots and other targets at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait," Houthi military Spokesperson Yahya Saree wrote on Telegram. He added that the attack involved "dozens of ballistic missiles and drones."

The situation in Yemen escalated sharply in early September when the rebel movement launched an offensive in the country’s southwest. At the same time, it began carrying out missile and drone strikes on Red Sea coastal areas and the outskirts of the city of Taiz, seeking to sever access routes to the port of Mocha and advance toward areas along the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

On September 11, the Houthi military spokesperson announced that Ansar Allah units had begun an operation on Yemen’s west coast to push back Saudi forces. According to him, the operation was due to "attacks on civilians, villages and areas on the west coast by Saudi-backed forces, which have been going on for several years." Ansar Allah Political Bureau member Hizam al-Asad confirmed to TASS on September 12 that the Houthis had concluded an operation to take control of areas in western Yemen adjacent to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.