The Houthi group confirmed that the recent intense attacks on sites in Saudi Arabia were a reaction to what it described as "the continuation of the Saudi aggression against Yemen." For its part, Britain announced its condemnation of these attacks.
Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdel Salam said - in statements to Al Jazeera Net - that the attacks are a natural response to Riyadh's continued aggression against Yemen and its bombing of its lands, the last of which was yesterday as Yemeni cities were bombed with more than 120 air strikes.
Abdel-Salam added that the siege, aggression, and war are continuing on Yemen, and that it is not acceptable for the Yemeni people to remain idle while the Saudi aggression is besieging and targeting their country.
The Houthi spokesman stated that all religious and moral norms and values made it imperative for Yemenis to defend their country and themselves, which is a consistent position of the political leadership of the Houthi group (Ansar Allah).
Abdel Salam, in a tweet on Twitter, called the Saudi-Emirati military alliance to "seriously address the Houthi balance deterrence process implemented by the fourth."
British condemnation
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Rapp condemned the attacks by the Houthi group (Iran-backed) with ballistic missiles and drones in Saudi Arabia.
"I condemn these recent attacks by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia and their continuing attacks inside Yemen that raise more doubts about what they claim about their desire to establish peace," he said in a statement.
With the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, the British minister added, "It has become more necessary than ever for the Houthis to stop their hostilities and allow the humanitarian efforts led by the United Nations to work to save the lives of Yemenis."
Explosions in Riyadh
The Houthi military spokesman, Brigadier Yahya Sari, said that they had targeted the Saudi Ministry of Defense, the Military Intelligence headquarters, the King Salman Air Force Base in Riyadh, and military sites in Jizan and Najran, in the south of the Kingdom.
He added in a televised statement that they used in the attack ballistic missiles and "Cruise" wings of the type "Jerusalem, Zulfiqar" in addition to drones of the type "Samad 3". The spokesman vowed to carry out more aggressive operations against Saudi targets until the siege on Yemen was lifted, he said.
Reuters news agency quoted a witness as hearing two explosions and seeing smoke in the sky of the Saudi capital, early in the morning.
Addressing car bombs, for
his part, spokesman for the Saudi-Emirati coalition, Brigadier Turki Al-Maliki said that his forces intercepted ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis from Sana'a and Saada towards Riyadh, Najran and Jazan.
He explained that his forces intercepted a missile over Riyadh, as well as three other missiles over Najran and Jizan, stressing that the Houthis targeted the Kingdom with eight drones and that his forces had responded to these "attacks."
Al-Maliki said that the Saudi-Emirati alliance will take strict and appropriate operational measures to stop these acts, which he described as terrorist, in accordance with international humanitarian law and its customary rules.