Dec 29 (Reuters) – The Iran-aligned Houthis said on Sunday six “sensitive” places in Saudi Arabia and three in the United Arab Emirates are on a list of military targets, suggesting the group remains prepared to fight on despite informal talks about a truce in Yemen’s war.
The priority targets were said to be “vital and sensitive” locations, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saria said without giving more details, during a round-up of the group’s activities during 2019 and outlook for 2020.
The Houthis have repeatedly said they have targets in Saudi and the UAE in their sights and have carried out missile and drone strikes on civilian airports and oil infrastructure in Saudi, as well as on the capital Riyadh.
But in September the Houthis said they would stop attacking Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones if their adversaries attacking Yemen did the same. Since then, Riyadh has stepped up informal discussions with the Houthis on a ceasefire.
Saria, in comments carried by the group’s al-Masirah television, also said that any attacks against Yemen and its people would continue to meet an appropriate response from Houthi armed forces.
The UAE is a leading partner in a Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to restore ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government after it was toppled by the Houthis in late 2014. In July the UAE said it was withdrawing its troops from Yemen, but remained a part of the coalition.
The Houthis claimed to have carried out a large Sept. 14 attack on Saudi oil giant Aramco, but the United States, European powers and Saudi Arabia blamed the attack on Iran.
(Reporting by Lisa Barrington, Editing by William Maclean)
