A Houthi missile attack on Aden airport has been reported by Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which said a runway was struck minutes before a flight from Cairo was due to land. Saudi Arabia separately said it intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh.
Yemen’s Ministry of Transport said at least two ballistic missiles and several drones targeted the airport’s runway and passenger terminal on Wednesday.
One missile landed close to the runway shortly before the incoming flight was due to arrive, prompting officials to cancel its landing and divert it to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, the ministry said.
The airport terminal was evacuated and two aircraft were moved from the tarmac during the attack, according to the ministry.
It said the incident could have turned a civilian flight into “a horrific humanitarian disaster, claiming the lives of dozens of innocent people in an instant”.
The Houthis said they had targeted Saudi military supplies arriving at the Badr camp near the airport, using ballistic missiles. Saudi Arabia backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which operates from Aden after the Iran-supported Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.
Saudi Arabia intercepts missile near Riyadh
Separately, the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile launched north of Riyadh.
Major-General Turki al-Maliki, the coalition’s spokesman, said the launch platform was being tracked through an intelligence system over Sanaa and promised that it would be destroyed.
The Houthis had said on Tuesday and overnight into Wednesday that they had targeted international airports in Riyadh and Abha.
The attacks came as fighting intensified in Yemen, with Saudi-backed government forces launching a counteroffensive to retake the Red Sea port of Mocha and areas around the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Clashes have been concentrated in the southwestern province of Taiz.
Pakistan and Turkey agreed on Monday to activate “deterrence measures” under a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia and to rapidly deploy forces to the Gulf kingdom in response to Houthi attacks.
