Yemen's internationally recognized government's armed forces said early Sunday they are carrying out strikes against "vital targets" of the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in the capital Sanaa and the group's Saada stronghold, confirming an escalation that also saw at least 13 airstrikes on Sanaa City on Saturday, according to Reuters and CTP-ISW.
What did Yemen's armed forces announce?
In a statement issued by the armed forces' media centre, the official spokesperson said Yemeni forces were striking Houthi-controlled areas. "We are delivering painful strikes against vital targets of the terrorist Houthi militia in Sanaa and Saada," the spokesperson said, per ANI. The statement warned that Houthi military capabilities would remain under attack: "The capabilities of the Houthi militia will not be safe from the fire of our armed forces, and we will destroy them."
Separately, Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported an attack on Sanaa that it attributed to Saudi Arabia; there was no immediate Saudi confirmation of that report, Reuters noted.
What is known about Saturday's Sanaa strikes?
CTP-ISW reported that Saudi or Yemeni government-aligned forces conducted at least 13 airstrikes on Sanaa City on October 3, "likely to degrade Houthi capabilities central to the group's offensive campaigns." Yemeni government-aligned forces described the targets as "legitimate vital military targets," and armed forces spokesperson Majed al Nuzaili said the strikes demonstrate the ability to conduct "strategic attacks" on valuable military targets deep inside the Houthi-controlled capital, far from the front lines in southern and eastern Yemen.
The strikes follow days of reported attacks on "Houthi weapons experts, missile and drone commanders, and other 'high-value targets'" in Sanaa City, aimed at degrading the command-and-control and military capabilities that sustain Houthi offensive campaigns in Yemen and against Saudi Arabia, CTP-ISW assessed. Nuzaili also claimed on October 2 that government-aligned forces had conducted at least 71 airstrikes on Houthi forces and logistics in Taiz Governorate — a claim that could not be independently verified.
The fighting is a spillover from the wider US-Iran war. The 2022 truce between the Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed government largely held until this year, when the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in July, began attacking Saudi territory and shipping, and made major territorial gains along Yemen's Red Sea coast, Reuters reported.
How did the Houthis respond?
The Houthi group said it carried out a "qualitative military operation" using ballistic missiles and drones against Aramco facilities in Riyadh, claiming the operation achieved its objective and started fires at the targeted sites — claims presented here as the group's own account, with no independent confirmation of damage. CTP-ISW assessed that the Houthis likely did attack a major oil refinery in Riyadh on October 3, noting fires and smoke reported by Houthi media and Reuters, and an independent geospatial analyst reporting attacks on refineries in Riyadh and Yanbu over the past 24 hours.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the operation was a response to Saudi strikes on Sanaa and other Houthi-held areas, which he claimed reached 60 airstrikes and missile attacks in the past 24 hours, bringing the total since the escalation began to 1,410 — figures that could not be independently verified. The group warned of further escalation, vowing a "siege for a siege" and "an escalation for escalation" until the attacks and blockade end.
Iranian state media separately claimed Saudi strikes damaged a maternity and child hospital in Sanaa and injured patients and staff; no independent confirmation of that claim was available.
What is happening in the Strait of Hormuz?
CTP-ISW assessed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy likely attacked two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on October 2, part of Iran's effort to disrupt shipping and pressure recognition of Iranian control of the strait. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported six attacks on vessels in or near the strait since September 30, per CTP-ISW.
