Houthis Claim Strike on Saudi Base as Yemen Fighting Widens

Houthi fighters said on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, that they fired drones and missiles at a Saudi military base in the south of the kingdom. The claim, reported by The Guardian, names the Sharurah base near the Saudi-Yemen border.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree wrote on X that the Sharurah operation targeted "weapons depots and command and control centres managing aggression against the Houthi nation and people." Command and control centres are staffed hubs used to direct military operations. The announcement did not give a date for the operation. The X account linked to Saree now shows an account-suspended notice.

Saudi authorities have not confirmed a strike on Sharurah. On Saturday night, Saudi authorities said a Houthi projectile landed in an area near the Saudi-Yemen border. It caused two injuries and material damage to a mosque, several buildings and vehicles. Riyadh has in the past treated cross-border projectile landings as separate from claimed strikes on military bases. Neither side has shared imagery to prove damage at Sharurah.

The Houthis said on Saturday evening that Saudi aircraft carried out 129 airstrikes on areas under Houthi control over the past 48 hours. That figure could not be independently verified. Both sides have described heavier air activity over the past week.

Yemeni government forces said on Saturday they struck Houthi fighters in the Red Sea city of Mocha and later attacked other Houthi positions in southwestern Yemen. Yemen's military said Sunday in a post on X that its Air Force targeted Houthi positions and barracks with three airstrikes in the Taiz region. Mocha and Taiz lie along corridors that link the Red Sea coast to Yemen's interior highlands, where control of roads and garrisons shapes resupply.

The latest exchange follows earlier strikes inside Saudi territory. The Houthis attacked the southern Saudi cities of Abha, Khamis Mushait and Jazan with ballistic missiles and drones, according to a Sept. 10 report from Reuters. The Houthis said drones and missiles hit an airbase and multiple Saudi oil targets, in a Sept. 9 report from Reuters. In July, Yemen's Houthi movement fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing Saudi Arabia of bombing an airport under Houthi control, according to a July 14 report from Reuters. Houthi rebels also claimed missile and drone attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, according to a July 23 report from Reuters.

The Houthis recently declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Red Sea ports, an effort to block ships from reaching those ports. Axios reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman twice called Donald Trump last week to request strikes on the Houthis and that the request was rejected. The United States said it destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers in the same early-September period as the Saudi oil-target claims. U.S. officials have not publicly linked the two actions. The UN migration agency said on Saturday that 76,000 people had fled fighting in Yemen since July. Sources on both sides said renewed fighting in Yemen has killed more than 500 people.

The broader context here is a conflict running on three tracks at once. Cross-border missile and drone strikes test Saudi air defence, the systems built to stop incoming weapons, and deterrence, the effort to discourage future attacks. Ground and air fighting around Mocha, Taiz and the southwest tests whether Yemeni government forces can use air support to hold territory. Threats at sea affect insurance, shipping routes and port work in the Red Sea. Each track has its own risks, but they now affect each other.

For leaders watching what comes next, verification will shape the response. A confirmed hit on depots and command hubs at Sharurah would point to Houthi skill in finding and striking a defended military site. An unconfirmed or overstated claim can still pressure Riyadh and Yemeni government units that depend on Saudi airpower. Watch Saudi strike choices, Yemeni government ground moves after the Taiz airstrikes, and any steps to enforce the declared Red Sea blockade. If U.S. restraint holds after the reported Trump-bin Salman calls, the air campaign stays centered on Saudi and Yemeni government operations while displacement keeps rising.