Houthis claimed missile and drone strikes on Saudi airports. A Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a Riyadh-bound missile.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, including a ballistic missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on social media that drones and missiles also targeted Abha airport, an air base at Khamis Mushait and military bases in Najran and Asir, all in southwestern Saudi Arabia. He did not provide evidence. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile north of Riyadh.
Saudi authorities have not publicly confirmed any strikes on the Riyadh airport or acknowledged airspace closures, AFP reported. Flight-tracking site Flightradar24 showed flights to and from the airport were briefly disrupted. It was the second time this week the Houthis claimed an attack on the airport.
In Yemen, the Houthis said they fired missiles early Wednesday at a military camp near Aden airport, in the city that serves as the internationally recognized government’s interim capital. Aden security authorities said two missiles targeted the airport and that no casualties were reported. Yemen’s Human Rights Ministry said one missile landed near the runway shortly before a flight from Cairo was due to land. FlightAware data showed the flight landed safely at 3:30 a.m.
The attacks come as Yemen’s civil war, which reignited in July after a four-year ceasefire, has intensified. The Houthis, who control most of northwest Yemen, seized the entire western Red Sea coastline last month in what has been the country’s deadliest fighting in years. The government declared a counter-offensive this week with coalition air support. It says it has retaken strategic areas near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the port city of Mocha, while the Houthis say they are holding their positions. Military sources from both sides told AFP they had not seen major changes on the ground.
Sources on both sides told AFP that more than 270 government troops and Houthi fighters were killed across Yemen on Tuesday alone. The United Nations says more than 184,000 people have been displaced by the latest fighting. The violence has also added to a wider Middle East war that has disrupted energy markets and shipping routes. Saudi Arabia has led a coalition against the Houthis since 2015.
Information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and The New Arab, which cited The Associated Press, along with flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 and FlightAware as cited in those reports.