Houthis announce pause on rocket, drone attacks against Saudi Arabia

Yemen's Houthi rebels said late on Friday night that they were halting drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, one week after they claimed responsibility for a strike that crippled a key oil facility in the kingdom.

The US and the Saudis blamed the September 14 attack on Iran, which backs the Houthi rebels fighting a Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen. Iran denies any responsibility.

Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthis' supreme political council, which runs rebel-held areas in Yemen, said the group is waiting for a "positive response" from Saudi Arabia. His comments were carried by the Houthi-run al-Masirah satellite TV.

The announcement could be a first step toward a wider ceasefire in Yemen, but it remained unclear, and there was no immediate response from the Saudi-led coalition.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and sparked what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The recent attacks knocked out more than half of Saudi Arabia's daily crude oil production.