Houthi, an elusive figure who commands a ⁠battle-hardened force, ⁠scored his biggest military victory in years when his Iran-aligned Houthi ⁠militant group swept through Yemen's Red Sea coastline and tightened their grip on a vital shipping waterway,

The rebel group took over Yemen's port of Mokha, an area vital to controlling shipping through the Red Sea, Houthi and Yemeni officials said. Mokha is about 50 miles from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Last week, the Houthis surged out of their strongholds in northern Yemen to seize the Red Sea port of Mokha and several islands inside the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, strengthening their control over one of the world’s most important shipping corridors despite years of Saudi, American, British and Israeli strikes.

By Seher Dareen HOUSTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday after China, acting on a request from Saudi Arabia, asked Iran to limit attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi oil infrastructure that have threatened a second oil export route in the Middle East.

This was the first time an alert was sounded in Riyadh since an escalation between the Houthis in Yemen and the Saudis.

Saudi Arabia said debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed one person, while the leader of the Iran-backed Houthis called for protests and said the kingdom committed a “monstrous fabrication” when it accused the rebels of trying to attack Islam's holiest city.

Crude oil price retreated last week, even as the crisis in the Middle East escalated. This escalation accelerated during the weekend as Ansar Allah, popularly known as Houthis, launched major attacks against Saudi Arabia. They attacked oil depots near Riyadh Airport in retaliation for Saudi’s attacks against Sanaa.

Intagondwa z'Aba-Houthi zifashwa na Iran zo muri Yemen zivuga ko zagabye ibitero bya misile zo mu bwoko bwa 'ballistic' hamwe n'ibitero by'indege nto z'intambara zitajyamo umupilote (zizwi nka 'drones') ku murwa mukuru Riyadh wa Arabie Saoudite, ndetse no ...