Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi movement said early on Sunday that it had used drones and missiles to attack a Saudi military base at Sharurah, in the kingdom’s south.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on X that the attack targeted “weapons depots and command and control centers that are managing the aggression against our nation and people,” Hiru News reported, carrying CBS News copy. Saree did not specify when the operation took place.
Al Jazeera places the Sharurah base in Najran province, on the Saudi–Yemeni border. Saudi authorities have not commented on the Houthi claim, and the strike has not been independently confirmed.
A projectile in Jazan
Saudi Civil Defence said separately that a projectile landed on Saturday in the al-Tuwal governorate of the south-western Jazan region, wounding two people and damaging a mosque, several buildings and a number of vehicles. It described the incident as a “flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”
It follows strikes on Tuesday on Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran that Saudi officials said wounded 73 people.
The wider offensive
Fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces, which are backed by Riyadh, has intensified over the past week. The Houthis have taken Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline, including the port of Mocha, after capturing Perim Island at the mouth of the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Al Jazeera reports more than 500 people killed and tens of thousands displaced since fighting reignited in July 2026. Al Jazeera’s own count on 10 September was at least 194 killed and 880 wounded over the past two weeks; the two figures cover different periods and cannot be reconciled from the reporting. Casualty totals on this offensive have moved sharply and should not be treated as settled. UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg has warned that Yemen faces “a new and more dangerous phase of war.”
Why it matters in Colombo
The escalation sits directly on Sri Lanka’s fuel import bill. Brent crude broke $100 a barrel on 9 September after Houthi strikes on Saudi oil facilities, and both Brent and WTI remain above that level. The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation said on Friday that pump prices will not move for now, while Gulf states and Iran are due to meet in Oman on Monday over transit arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz.
Not reported
Neither report gives a date for the Sharurah operation, the number of missiles or drones launched, or any damage assessment at the base. No casualty figure is attached to the claimed strike, and Saudi Arabia has issued no confirmation or denial.
Neither outlet attributes the Jazan projectile to the Houthis directly, and no group has been named as responsible for it. Ada Derana also reported the Sharurah claim, including a Houthi warning of larger strikes deeper inside Saudi territory, but its site was unreachable and it is not cited here.
