Saudi Arabia, Houthis trade threats as strikes on oil facilities

Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi group exchanged threats of retaliatory attacks as cross-border strikes on major cities and oil facilities continued.

At a cabinet meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia warned Yemen's Houthis would face consequences for its repeated attacks on the kingdom. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea warned any attack on the Houthi-held capital Sanaa would trigger what he described as a "harsh and painful" response against Saudi Arabia.

The group later warned of several sites in Saudi Arabia, including facilities belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Saudi-led coalition strikes hit Sanaa and western Hodeidah province, triggering powerful explosions.

Rashad al-Alimi, Head of the ruling Presidential Leadership Council, said the operation, dubbed Dawn of Yemen, would continue until the Houthis' takeover ended, state institutions restored and decisions of war and peace placed in the hands of constitutional institutions.

Meanwhile, a Saudi Aramco administrative building in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, was targeted Tuesday evening, causing a limited fire, the Saudi Press Agency reported early on Wednesday.

Houthi media reported an attack by Saudi Arabia on the Yemen Petroleum Company in Sanaa, although the facility does not contain any stock of petroleum products.

The Houthis also said Saudi Arabia had launched 104 airstrikes on multiple locations in Yemen over the past 24 hours, causing civilian casualties.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the Yemeni government.