Houthi attack injures 11 civilians in Saudi Arabia

An attack by Yemen's Houthi movement wounded 11 civilians in southern Saudi Arabia on August 6, according to Saudi military officials, as the kingdom warned that coordinated attacks by the Houthis and Iran-backed Iraqi militias could be imminent.

Major General Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognised government, said the attack in Najran Province injured seven Saudi citizens, one Yemeni, two Egyptians, and one Pakistani national, Reuters reports. 

The victims included a four-year-old child who suffered second-degree burns.

Maliki accused the Iran-aligned Houthis of indiscriminately shelling civilian areas in violation of international humanitarian law and said the coalition would continue taking all necessary measures to protect civilians.

The incident comes as Saudi Arabia faces growing security concerns amid the five-month-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Riyadh's long-running conflict with the Tehran-backed Houthis has become increasingly intertwined with broader regional tensions, particularly after Houthi actions, including a Red Sea blockade, disrupted Saudi oil exports.

The Houthis claimed responsibility on August 4 for an attack on Najran Airport as part of a broader escalation targeting Saudi military positions, infrastructure, and shipping.

The group also said it had carried out attacks on what it described as Saudi military deployments in Yemen's Marib and Hadramout provinces. Yemeni government sources said those attacks killed more than 30 government troops on August 7.

On July 29, Saudi Arabia said it had carried out strikes with U.S. Central Command against Iran-backed groups in Iraq after accusing them of launching drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Iraqi militias subsequently said they would respond to the Saudi strikes.

By Sabina Mammadli