Iran-backed Houthis launch biggest attack on the kingdom in years this week, taking their conflict to a new level

Sept 9 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense lifted an alert it had announced in the southern city of Khamis Mushait on Wednesday, a day after Houthi attacks there and in three other nearby cities wounded 73 people and set oil installations ablaze.

Jazan sits within Saudi Arabia's Red Sea export network, which has gained importance as the Strait of Hormuz faces disruption.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said Wednesday that Saudi-backed forces had launched dozens of airstrikes overnight across four Yemeni provinces after rebel attacks on Saudi Arabia ignited fires at several oil facilities and wounded dozens of people.

ADEN, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who launched a wave of attacks on Saudi oil facilities on Tuesday, have become an increasingly disruptive force in the Middle East in recent years, striking Israel, Saudi Arabia and a global shipping route in solidarity with Iran and allied armed groups.

The latest escalation threatens to drag Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi militia back into a full-blown war.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia strongly condemned on Wednesday the continued Iranian attacks on Jordan, describing them as a violation of international law and the principles of good neighborliness. The Foreign Ministry reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s solidarity with Jordan and its people,

Regional officials tell The Associated Press that Yemen's Houthi rebels helped Iraqi militias launch drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities in July.