Saudi Arabia says Yemen rebels target its energy facilities
Dubai(AP): Yemen's Houthi rebels unleashed a barrage of drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia early on Sunday that targeted a liquified natural gas plant, water desalination plant, oil facility and power station, Saudi state-run media reported.
The attacks did not cause casualties, the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen said, but damaged civilian vehicles and homes in the area.
The salvo marked the latest escalation in Houthi cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia as peace talks remain stalled and the conflict that has laid waste to much of Yemen since 2015 rages on.
Yehia Sarie, a spokesman for Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said the group had launched a wide and large military operation into the depth of Saudi Arabia, without immediately elaborating.
The military coalition said it thwarted an attack on a liquified gas plant at a petrochemicals complex in the Red Sea port of Yanbu run by the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., better known as Aramco. It wasn't immediately clear if the attack had inflicted any damage on the plant.
Other aerial strikes targeted a power station in the country's southwest, a desalination facility in Al-Shaqeeq on the Red Sea coast, an Aramco terminal in the southern border town of Jizan and a gas station in the southern city of Khamis Mushait, the coalition said.
The extent of damage was unclear. The official Saudi Press Agency posted various photos of firetrucks dousing leaping flames with water hoses, as well as wrecked cars and craters in the ground allegedly left by the series of drone and ballistic missile strikes.
The barrage comes after the Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council invited Yemen's warring sides for talks in Riyadh aimed at ending the war an offer dismissed out of hand by the Houthis, who demanded that negotiations take place in a neutral country.
Peace talks have floundered since the Houthis have tried to capture oil-rich Marib, one of the last remaining strongholds of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government in the country's north.
The ongoing war has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with a recent UN report estimating that hundreds of thousands of people have died and millions have been displaced as a result of the conflict.
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Siblings found dead under mysterious circumstances in Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Nov 22: Two minor siblings were found dead under mysterious circumstances at their residence here on Thursday in a case of murder, police said on Friday.
Shubham (7) and Siya (3) were allegedly strangled to death with a rope, according to police.
The children's father, Sunil Kumar Sahoo, has accused his wife, Mamata, of "killing the children due to a marital dispute."
Sahoo, a 30-year-old auto driver from Jharkhand, discovered his children’s bodies when he returned home in Subramanyapura around 9.30 pm on Thursday. He immediately rushed his children and his wife, who sustained a minor neck injury, to the hospital.
In his complaint, Sahoo claimed that his wife, frustrated and depressed due to their ongoing marital issues, killed the children. However, Mamata has denied any involvement in the crime, and police said she was at home during the incident.
CCTV footage reviewed by police confirmed that the father was not present at the time of the incident.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Lokesh B Jagalasar, citing preliminary investigations, said the children were strangled to death with a rope. There are conflicting claims from both parents regarding who was responsible for the murders. A case of murder has been registered, and the investigation is ongoing.
"The mother, who has a minor neck injury, is receiving treatment at the hospital. It remains to be seen whether the injury is self-inflicted or caused by another person," Jagalasar said.
"Initial findings suggest that the murder may be linked to the marital dispute, which was known to neighbours and relatives. However, the investigation is ongoing, and all claims are being thoroughly examined," he added.
Police are awaiting technical and forensic reports to further investigate the incident. No arrests have been made yet, as the mother is still hospitalised.
