Yemen’s Ansurullah Strikes Saudi Ground Forces and Key Airports with Ballistic Missiles

The Yemeni Ansurullah Coalition has warned civilian airlines against operating over Saudi Arabia, declaring the kingdom’s airspace unsafe as fighting with Saudi and allied forces intensifies. Footage released by the coalition has shown multiple ballistic missile strikes successfully targeting the Southern Giants Brigades and other Saudi-backed units in southwestern Yemen. Saudi Arabia has officially confirmed that recent attacks damaged King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, as well as airports in Najran and Jizan, marking an unprecedented escalation of strikes on targets in the Kingdom. Footage released by the coalition has also shown FPV drone strikes against vehicles, personnel, and surveillance systems operated by Saudi-led forces. 

Saudi Arabia significantly has expanded its air campaign in Yemen, with Saudi-led coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki having stated that approximately 100 fighter aircraft had participated in operations against the coalition’s forces. Ansurullah Coalition forces have responded with missile and drone attacks against targets inside Saudi Arabia, including military installations across much of the in the kingdom. Attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure have also raised concerns over oil transportation. AFP reported that a source in the Saudi energy sector said an attack on Sunday again halted pumping through the East-West pipeline, which transports crude from the kingdom’s eastern oil-producing regions towards the Red Sea. Smoke was subsequently observed near the Khurais oil-processing facility, although satellite imagery alone could not establish the precise cause or extent of damage.

Yemeni Ansurullah Coalition forces in mid-September seized the strategic port of Mocha, delivering a major setback to Saudi and allied U.S. forces, and bringing the coalition’s forces to within approximately 50 kilometres of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The development represented a dramatic shift in the security situation along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, and has allowedcoalition forces to control one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints. In late 2024 U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Bill LaPlante observed that the Ansurullah Coalition’s military capabilities far exceeded previous estimates, with its arsenal including missiles which “can do things that are just amazing.” "I'm an engineer and a physicist, and I've been around missiles my whole career. What I've seen of what the Houthis [Ansurullah] have done in the last six months is something that — I'm just shocked,” he stated. He reiterated that their arsenal "can do some pretty amazing things.”