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Yemenupdated 27m ago3 min read

Houthis Kill Three in Attacks on Saudi Airports, Saudi-Led Coalition Retaliates

Three people killed and 36 injured in Houthi attacks on Abha and King Khalid airports. Attacks occurred on two Saudi airports on consecutive days, Saudi authorities confirmed casualties.

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Houthis Kill Three in Attacks on Saudi Airports, Saudi-Led Coalition Retaliates
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Airports hit, casualties disputed

Saudi authorities said Wednesday that three people were killed in attacks on two of the kingdom's international airports, including in the capital Riyadh, after Yemen's Houthis claimed to have fired on both transport hubs. Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said in a statement that an Egyptian and an Algerian national were killed at Abha airport, while a Sudanese national was killed at Riyadh airport, and it added that the attacks wounded 36 people. The Houthis claimed an attack on Riyadh's main airport and later claimed another attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, while the Saudi-led coalition vowed retaliation.

The coalition said it retaliated by striking 82 "legitimate military targets", including missile facilities, command centres, communications systems and Houthi gathering sites. Yemen's government declared a major counter-offensive against the Houthis this week, claiming to have pushed the fighters out of strategic areas on the Red Sea and the port city of Mocha, while AFP reported that military sources contacted by AFP had not reported any major changes on the ground.

Image from @thepeninsulaqatar
Image: @thepeninsulaqatar
Reporting for this sectionAFP

Missiles intercepted, UN condemns

The Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognised government said it intercepted ballistic missiles allegedly fired by Yemen's Houthis towards cities in Saudi Arabia, with spokesman Turki al-Maliki saying forces destroyed two ballistic missiles heading in the direction of the Saudi capital Riyadh and one missile in the direction of Khamis Mushait. Yahya Saree, Yemen's Houthi military spokesman, said the group launched a ballistic missile towards King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Thursday afternoon, claiming the missile hit its intended target and caused damage and disrupted air traffic. The United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the UN reiterated its condemnation of the ongoing cross-border attacks by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia and warned of military escalation in Yemen and its surroundings.

Dujarric also said the UN called on "all parties" "to act with moderation" and to refrain from "carrying out direct attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure." The UN briefing followed Saudi civil defence reports of material damage to a kindergarten and a medical clinic complex in Riyadh due to shrapnel from an intercepted missile, while Al Jazeera reported it could not independently confirm some claims about damage and disruptions.

Image from Aajil
Image: Aajil
Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraDemócrata

Yemen fighting and escalation

Inside Yemen, explosions were reported near the airport in the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, while the cause and impact of these explosions were not immediately clear. A spokesman for Yemen's Saudi-backed forces said at least 1,370 Houthi fighters were "neutralised" in 1,729 operations, and at least 300 vehicles were destroyed or disabled, as fighting intensified along Yemen's western Red Sea coast and near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Al Jazeera's Hadeel al-Yamani reported intense fighting between armed forces of Yemen's internationally recognised government and the Houthis in al-Shamayatayn, al-Maafer and the southern and western countryside of Taiz governorate, and she said the Houthis were pushing into rural areas to open a supply route.

The International Organization for Migration described the displacement crisis as alarming, saying more than 200,000 people had been displaced from their homes since fighting in Yemen escalated in recent weeks, rising from the 76,000 recorded in mid-September. AFP reported that since Yemen's civil war reignited in July, more than 200,000 people had been displaced within the country, and it said the Houthis later claimed an attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Thursday while Saudi Arabia's coalition vowed retaliation.

Reporting for this sectionAl JazeeraAFP