The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on Thursday that Houthi attacks on Saudi facilities had attempted to strike dozens of airports, ports and oil installations across the kingdom, as fighting between the Iran-aligned group and Saudi Arabia intensified.
FAKTA
- Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said at a press conference on Thursday that the Houthis had attempted to attack dozens of Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities.
- The Houthis launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month, killing 17 people and wounding 333, according to the coalition.
- Houthi attacks on Abha airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia killed three people and wounded 28, the coalition said.
- The coalition said it had destroyed 127 Houthi weapons storage facilities and launch platforms in Yemen’s mountainous areas.
- The Houthi military spokesperson renewed a warning to airlines that Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe, excluding airspace over Mecca and Medina.
Houthi attacks Saudi facilities: what the coalition announced
Speaking at a press conference in Riyadh, al-Maliki said the Houthis had been firing ballistic missiles and drones at key Saudi sites for a week, in response to the kingdom’s backing of government forces in Yemen’s renewed civil war. The coalition’s statement highlighted the risk to civilian infrastructure as the conflict escalated.
According to the coalition, the 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport — one of Saudi Arabia’s main international aviation hubs — killed 17 people and wounded 333 others. The coalition also released CCTV footage showing moments of missile and drone strikes on the airport, the Saudi Ministry of Media said.
Abha airport casualties and the coalition’s response
Al-Maliki said Houthi attacks on Abha airport, near the Yemeni border in southwestern Saudi Arabia, had killed three people and wounded 28. He said the Houthis had acquired advanced military technology with the help of “regional actors,” including ballistic missiles, drones and explosive-laden fast boats.
The spokesperson said the coalition had destroyed 127 weapons storage facilities and launch platforms in Yemen’s mountainous areas, and called on the Houthis to immediately halt operations targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. He said the group should read the coalition’s statement carefully and “between the lines.”
Why the fighting has intensified
The Houthis have fired ballistic missiles and drones at key Saudi sites for a week, in response to the kingdom’s backing of government forces in Yemen’s renewed civil war, which reignited amid the wider US-Iran confrontation. Hospitals across Yemen are reported to be overwhelmed by war casualties, and relief agencies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe as fighting cuts off aid to hundreds of thousands of people.
Shortly after the coalition’s statement, the Houthi military spokesperson said Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe, renewing a warning to airlines while excluding airspace over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Saudi Arabia has said its flagship Future Investment Initiative conference this month may be held as a hybrid event after the deadly attacks on Riyadh airport.
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