Saudi Arabia resumes oil shipments through Red Sea strait

Saudi Arabia says it will resume oil shipments through the Bab al-Mandeb strait after they were temporarily halted following attacks by Yemen's Shiite rebels.

Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih is quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency as saying shipments through the narrow strait, which links the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea, will resume Saturday.

He says the Saudi-led coalition, which has been at war with the rebels since March 2015, took the "necessary measures" to ensure the security of the shipments, without elaborating.

Saudi Arabia's state oil company, Aramco, suspended shipments on July 25 after the rebels fired on two oil tankers, causing minimal damage to one of them.

The Bab al-Mandeb strait is only about 20 miles (30 kilometers) wide.