Saudi coalition, Houthis trade strikes as disruption spreads
On Sunday the Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-backed Houthis traded strikes, with the coalition launching repeated air raids on Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen and a Houthi projectile injuring at least six people in Najran, according to the kingdom's civil defence agency. The Houthis' Saba news agency reported that an alleged Saudi airstrike in Saada governorate killed at least nine people and wounded 16, while the coalition said two pilots were killed in a helicopter crash in Najran that it blamed on a technical malfunction. Egypt's parliament postponed to Monday a vote on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's request to authorise military support for Saudi Arabia.
Why it matters: The exchange bears on energy security because the text reports disruption in the world's top crude oil exporter and threats to shipping in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.