Yemen government says Houthi missiles kill at least four civilians in port city

Aug 14 - Yemen's internationally recognised government said the Houthis fired six ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port of Mocha on Friday, killing four civilians, amid an escalation in hostilities between the Iran-aligned group and its Saudi-backed opponents.

The escalation comes at a time of heightened regional tensions over the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, where the Houthis have emerged as a key front, raising the prospect of a return to large-scale conflict in Yemen.

The armed forces aligned with the Yemeni government said the attack targeted civilian infrastructure and national assets at the port. Initial reports said four civilians were killed and several fishing boats were set on fire.

The Houthis said they had attacked what they described as Saudi-backed military build-ups, weapons and warships belonging to Saudi-backed forces and "mercenaries" in Mocha with a large number of ballistic missiles, destroying boats and weapons.

Separately, the Houthi-run SABA news agency cited a military source as saying the group had targeted an Aramco facility in the Saudi city of Najran with a drone.

The source said the attack was a response to what it described as Saudi military aircraft entering airspace over the northeastern part of Yemen's Saada governorate. The report did not identify the precise target or say whether it had been hit.

There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities or Aramco.

The reported attacks follow a rise in hostilities between the Houthis and Yemen's internationally recognised government. On Thursday, the Houthis said they had attacked an Aramco refinery in Saudi Arabia's Jazan with two drones.

On July 20, the Houthis announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, saying it was a response to what they called a Saudi siege of Yemen, an allegation Riyadh denies. A Saudi-led coalition responded with air strikes on what it said were Houthi military facilities in the port city of Hodeidah linked to threats against commercial shipping.

Yemen has been engulfed by conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year. Major fighting largely subsided under a U.N.-brokered truce in 2022, but efforts to secure a lasting political settlement have stalled. REUTERS