RIYADH – The Houthi group launched ballistic missile and drone attacks targeting the Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Jazan on Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognized government in Yemen said.

In a statement on social media platform X, coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki said the Houthis were continuing attacks on the kingdom's national assets and infrastructure, reflecting what he described as the group's extremist approach toward escalation and the targeting of civilians in Saudi Arabia.

The coalition's Joint Forces Command would respond to protect the kingdom's sovereignty, national assets, civilians and civilian objects, he added.

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The attacks came amid a sharp escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia. Earlier on Wednesday, the Houthi group said dozens of "Saudi airstrikes" had struck areas under its control over the past 12 hours.

The cross-border exchanges have unfolded alongside a sharp escalation inside Yemen, where government forces and the Houthis are fighting on several fronts, most intensely in the country's western areas. The escalation threatens to end several years of relative calm on Yemen's major frontlines following a UN-brokered truce that took effect in April 2022.