Houthi missile and drone strikes wound 73, hit Saudi oil sites

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding 73 people and setting off fires at oil facilities and utilities in the kingdom, according to Saudi authorities. The Houthis said they targeted oil, economic and military sites in southern Saudi Arabia, in what Saudi officials described as a "serious escalation".

The attacks came amid renewed fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition, raising fears of a wider return to war in Yemen and adding to pressure on oil supplies and shipping routes in the region. The latest violence has also led to fresh casualties and displacement inside Yemen.

The strikes came hours after the Houthis blamed Saudi Arabia for an airstrike on a prison in Yemen's northern Jawf province. At least seven people, including a child, were killed and seven others were wounded in that strike. Saudi coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said the rebels hit "civilian and economic facilities" in the Saudi cities of Abha, Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait.