Houthi claims of attack on Saudi capital 'misleading', coalition says

Claims by Yemen's Houthis to have attacked Riyadh are "misleading," the Saudi-led coalition battling the group said, after an AFP journalist saw flames at an oil facility near the Saudi capital.

Fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Yemen's internationally recognised government, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, reignited in July, with the group also launching numerous attacks on Saudi territory.

Government forces said Sunday that they had struck Houthi targets across Yemen, while the Houthis claimed the attack on the oil facility near Riyadh.

A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, General Turki al-Maliki, told Saudi-owned media outlet Asharq Al-Awsat late Saturday that the Houthis were "chasing imaginary victories."

In comments to the Britain-based outlet, he said they were struggling in Taiz, Yemen's third most populous city, which is currently largely held by government forces.

Earlier on Saturday the Houthis claimed to have attacked a site south of Riyadh belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco.

An AFP journalist in the area saw flames and smoke rising from the facility, but Saudi authorities have not commented.

Last month the Houthis also claimed to have attacked an oil facility in the Saudi port city of Yanbu, a major oil terminal on the Red Sea.

After several years of calm, Yemen was plunged back into civil war in July, pitting the Houthis, who control most of northwest Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, against the country's government and its longtime Saudi backers.

The government, based in the city of Aden, controls much of Yemen's south and east — a region that is larger but less populated.

Fighting has intensified, with the Houthis launching a lightning offensive last month that saw them seize control of coastal regions along the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

They have also struck targets inside Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, and announced a naval blockade on its ships in the Red Sea.

Recent fighting has centred on Taiz. While the Houthis have conquered swathes of territory, they have yet to wrest control of Taiz city away from the government.