An attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on southern Saudi Arabia has injured 11 civilians, including a four-year-old child, as Riyadh warned of possible coordinated attacks by the group and Iran-backed Iraqi militias.
Saudi military coalition spokesman, Major General Turki al-Maliki, said the attack occurred in Najran Province, where seven Saudis, a Yemeni, two Egyptians and a Pakistani national were injured.
The four-year-old child suffered second-degree burns, according to Maliki.
He accused the Houthis of shelling civilian areas indiscriminately, describing the attack as a violation of international humanitarian law. He said Saudi-led forces would take all necessary measures to protect civilians.
The Houthis and Iran had not immediately commented on the allegation.
The latest attack comes amid growing tensions in the region, with the long-running Saudi-Houthi conflict becoming increasingly linked to the wider war involving Iran.
A senior Saudi official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said intelligence gathered by Saudi Arabia, the United States and other Middle Eastern countries indicated that the Houthis and Iraqi militias operating under Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could launch coordinated attacks on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia.
The official said energy facilities, ports and airports could be among the targets.
The warning comes as Riyadh steps up security cooperation with its allies while continuing to push for diplomacy and a negotiated settlement to the conflict with Iran.
Two regional sources said Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were expected to sign a defence agreement in Saudi Arabia on Friday, although details of the pact were not immediately available.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in the kingdom on Thursday, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was expected to arrive on Friday.
The Saudi official said the reported threat was a cause for concern but maintained that Riyadh remained committed to efforts to de-escalate the conflict.
According to him, mediation efforts were moving “in the right direction”, raising the possibility that the planned attacks could be aimed at frustrating the diplomatic process.
He added that security cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the United States remained strong, including operational coordination with US Central Command.
The Houthis claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack on Najran airport, following a series of attacks on Saudi military positions, infrastructure and shipping.
The group also killed more than 30 Yemeni government troops on Thursday after attacking what it described as Saudi military deployments in the Yemeni provinces of Marib and Hadramout.
Saudi Arabia has also become directly involved in the wider regional confrontation. On July 29, Riyadh said it carried out strikes alongside US Central Command against Iran-backed groups in Iraq, blaming them for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities.
The Iraqi militias subsequently threatened to retaliate against Saudi Arabia.
