A satellite image shows the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia on September 13, 2026, after the September 11 strike [Vantor/Reuters]
Mon 14 September 2026:
Yemen’s Houthis on Monday claimed to have carried out a large-scale missile and drone attack on a Saudi air base in the southern city of Khamis Mushait.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement that the group targeted King Khalid Air Base with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones.
He claimed the attack targeted aircraft hangars, radars, runways, ammunition depots and other military facilities, causing “significant losses” at the base.
The Houthis said the operation came in response to Saudi airstrikes in Yemen, claiming Saudi F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets had carried out more than 300 strikes across several Yemeni provinces over the past five days.
There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of the Houthi claims regarding damage at the air base.
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issued an alert in Khamis Mushait governorate but later said “the danger has passed.” It urged residents to continue following Civil Defense instructions and avoid gathering and filming.
The Houthis vowed to continue attacks inside Saudi Arabia as long as Saudi military operations in Yemen continue, warning that any new attacks would be met with “broader and more severe” operations.
The attack comes amid a sharp escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, with the two sides exchanging attacks in recent days.
Saudi Arabia has intensified airstrikes on Houthi-held areas in Yemen, while the Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks targeting southern Saudi cities and energy facilities.
Last week, Saudi authorities said 73 civilians were injured in Houthi attacks targeting Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran, while attacks also caused fires and temporary disruptions at energy facilities in the kingdom.
The Houthis captured Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2014, and have been battling a Saudi-led coalition for more than a decade.
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Gulf states fear Iran’s ‘double game’ through proxies
Sultan Barakat, professor of public policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, says Gulf nations are concerned Iran may be playing “a double game” by using its proxies throughout the Middle East to foment turmoil while calling for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
“Saudi and others know that even if they were not directly involved, they have the facility, the authority for some of those actors – be it in Iraq or in Yemen – and they could have chosen to calm them down,” he told Al Jazeera.
Barakat highlighted the meeting between Gulf states and Iran planned in Oman for Monday that was cancelled after days of Houthi attacks throughout Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
“But I think what makes the Saudis worry is the timing of all this. Suddenly, the Houthis spot this opportunity, they move to the western coast of Yemen threatening the traffic through the Red Sea … and that must have given them the impression that Iran is continuing to play a double game,” he said.
“On one hand they [the Iranians] are inviting them as independent sovereign states to come and sit and talk eye to eye about collective security. On the other hand, they continue to exert pressure on them indirectly through their allies.”
WHO says nearly 3,000 casualties in Yemen after days of fighting
The World Health Organization (WHO) says escalating fighting on multiple fronts in Yemen resulted in 2,883 casualties – 504 deaths and 2,379 injuries – between September 6-12.
In a report, WHO said at least 77,789 people were displaced across several governorates – including Taiz, Marib, al-Jawf, Lahj, Hodeidah, Abyan, and Shabwa – as of Friday.
The report noted Marib governorate recorded the highest daily casualty toll with 469 people killed or wounded on September 9, followed by 177 the next day, and 219 cases last Friday.
Marib accounted for 49 percent of total casualties while Taiz and areas along the west coast represented 43 percent.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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