US helps Saudi Arabia fight Houthis with AI-assisted targeting

▲ Escalating

Houthis claim new strikes on Saudi oil sites and airports as Taiz aid crisis deepens

On Saturday the Houthis said they attacked Saudi oil facilities and airports, and Yemen's Saudi-backed government said the group fired three ballistic missiles at coast guard sites in Aden. On Sunday, reports said the US is helping Saudi Arabia fight the Houthis with AI-assisted targeting, and that Egypt is weighing helping defend Saudi Arabia while wary of involvement in Yemen. In Taiz, the UN says more than 800,000 people have been cut off from aid since the Houthis encircled the city in early October.

• A hospital in Taiz warned on Saturday it could collapse within days because of shortages of fuel, medicines and oxygen.
• The UN said on Friday that time is running out to reach Taiz, where residents also face severe food and water shortages.
• Saudi Arabia has scrapped events in the region after a deadly strike on Riyadh airport, while the Qatar MotoGP will go ahead.
• Experts quoted on the US targeting help say AI is not a magic bullet and raise technological, political and human rights issues.