CAIRO (AP) — Two attacks on airports in Saudi Arabia claimed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring countries. Yemen killed three people on Wednesday, Saudi officials said, as the kingdom was drawn deeper into the latest front of the conflict. Iranian War.
The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation did not blame any party for the attacks on King Khalid International Airports in Abha and Riyadh, but Houthi rebels earlier took credit for the airport strikes.
The attack on Abha airport killed Moroccan and Algerian residents and injured 28 others, while the attack on King Khalid Airport killed a Sudanese national and injured eight others, officials said.
As Riyadh came under fire last week, new cage-like fences were erected around fuel tanks and other equipment at Saudi state oil company Aramco near the capital’s airport. The kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter, has seen its oil and military resources targeted in recent days, posing a threat to a crucial alternative to shipping. Strait of Hormuzwhere traffic was reduced due to the war in Iran.
The spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said forces intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh and destroyed a platform in Sana, Yemen’s capital, that had been used to launch attacks on the Saudi capital. The AP could not independently verify these claims.
Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni allies have launched a major land and air offensive aimed at retaking territory captured by rebels a month ago along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast and in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
These positions have given the Houthis greater oversight as they continue the blockade of shipping linked to Saudi Arabia. On Monday, officials said Saudi-led coalition forces reconquered several key areas around the strait, through which approximately 12% of world trade passes.
Houthis push for strategic areas in Yemen
“The Houthis believe they can maximize Saudi economic costs and force Saudi Arabia to comply with Houthi demands by striking civilian infrastructure, such as oil facilities and airports,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, wrote in an analysis.
In Yemen, fighting has been concentrated in and around the crucial town of Dhubab, about 54 kilometers (33.5 miles) south of the port town of Mokha that rebels captured last month, according to the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
Two Houthi officials said Wednesday that rebels had regained control of key areas of Yemen’s southwest coast, including Dhubab and the neighboring village of Al-Jadid, as well as the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, after intensifying fighting with Saudi-backed coalition forces.
A government official denied the claims, which The Associated Press could not independently verify.
The Houthis also claimed that Saudi forces had targeted “civilian assets” over the past 24 hours in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, as well as in Taiz, Jawf and other active fronts, including Saada and Marib.
The Houthi military spokesperson, Brigadier-General. Gen. Yahya Saree said, without providing evidence, that the fighter jets used in the attacks took off from Khamis Mushait and Taif in Saudi Arabia, while missiles were launched from Najran and Jizan. Rebels have repeatedly claimed responsibility for attacks on these Saudi cities in recent weeks.
Saudi-led coalition pledges full support to Yemen government
Al-Malki pledged “full operational support” to Yemeni government forces until the Houthis are “eliminated.” The coalition said 100 fighter jets would provide support. Another goal is to liberate Sanaa, Yemen’s rebel-controlled capital.
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi criticized Saudi Arabia for supporting Yemen’s government forces during the latest escalation with the Houthis, which shattered a truce agreed four years ago.
The rebels are ready to support the Palestinians in any way possible in the event of “any further escalation” with Israel, al-Houthi said in a speech Wednesday expressing solidarity with Gaza on the third anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The offensive began after rebels captured the town of Turbah on a main road linking the provincial capital of Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, to Aden, the seat of the internationally recognized government. Officials said U.S. support included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning.
This escalation has reignited the civil war in Yemen after a four-year ceasefire. Nearly 1,000 people have been killed in the latest fighting, and more than 200,000 people have been displaced, according to the United Nations. Cases of cholera and malnutrition are increasing, access to trauma care is more difficult and some hospitals lack surgical and other equipment, the World Health Organization said this week.
Houthi missiles target Aden airport
The Houthis also said they launched a missile strike early Wednesday against Aden. Explosions were heard by an AP reporter around 2 a.m.
The rebels hit a military camp near the city’s airport with ballistic missiles, Saree said. Aden security authorities said the Houthis targeted the airport with two missiles, causing no casualties. The airport is close to the government headquarters.
A missile hit near the runway just before a flight from Cairo was scheduled to land, the Human Rights Ministry said. Flight 603, operated by Yemen’s flagship airline, landed safely in Aden at 3:30 a.m., according to flight tracking platform FlightAware.
The ministry said the missile was hit while other passengers were waiting to board their flight to the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.
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