Houthi rebels have claimed a series of attacks on Saudi airports and military facilities as fighting intensifies in Yemen and the wider Iran war, while Riyadh said it intercepted a ballistic missile north of the capital.
The Iran-backed group said it used ballistic missiles and drones against King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Flights arriving at and departing from the airport were briefly disrupted, although the Houthis did not provide evidence for their claim.
Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree also said Abha airport, an air base in Khamis Mushait and military bases in Najran and Asir had been targeted. The sites are in south-western Saudi Arabia, close to the border with Yemen.
Major General Turki al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, said a ballistic missile had been intercepted and destroyed north of Riyadh.
Fighting centres on Yemen’s Red Sea coast
Saudi Arabia and allied Yemeni forces have launched a major ground and air offensive in recent days, seeking to retake territory captured by the Houthis about a month ago along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast and around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The positions have given the rebels greater ability to monitor shipping as they pursue a blockade of Saudi vessels. Coalition forces said on Monday that they had recaptured several key areas near the strait.
Fighting has since focused on and around Dhubab, about 50 kilometres south of the port city of Mokha, according to the Houthis and Yemen’s government. Clashes have also been reported in Waziayah district in south-western Taiz province, which links Yemen’s mountain highlands with the Red Sea and overlooks routes to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The Houthis also claimed responsibility for a missile strike on Aden, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government. Brigadier General Saree said a military camp near Aden airport had been hit with ballistic missiles.
Security authorities in Aden said two missiles had targeted the airport but that there were no casualties. One missile landed close to the runway shortly before a flight from Cairo was due to arrive, according to the human rights ministry.
Aden police described the attack as a direct threat to civilians, passengers, employees and flight crews, while the human rights ministry warned it risked causing “a humanitarian disaster”.
The Institute for the Study of War said the Houthis believed they could increase Saudi Arabia’s economic costs and force it to accept their demands by attacking civilian infrastructure, including oil facilities and airports.
