Riyadh: Attacks of the Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi militia against Saudi Arabia have doubled in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, according to a report by a US think tank.
During the first nine months of 2021, Houthi attacks against the Saudi kingdom averaged 78 a month, or 702 in total, said the report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington.
The report stated that during the same period in 2020, the monthly average was 38.
The CSIS said it analyzed more than 4,100 Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia between January 1, 2016, and October 20, 2021.
Yemen has been mired in civil war since September 2014 when the Houthi militia forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
Since March 2015, the Arab coalition has been carrying out military operations in support of government forces in Yemen, to confront the Iranian-backed Houthis, who control several governorates, including the capital, Sanaa.
Several regions in Saudi Arabia are constantly being attacked by ballistic missiles and booby-trapped drones, which are launched from Yemen towards their airports and oil facilities.
Riyadh is struggling to fend off such attacks. The Wall Street Journal reported, earlier this month, that Saudi supplies of Patriot interceptor missiles had begun to run out.
Continuously, the Saudi-led military coalition announces that it has thwarted Houthi attacks via drones and missiles, targeting Saudi cities and civilians in the Kingdom’s regions.