The Houthis, from the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement, said they had attacked King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones. The group's military spokesman, Yahya Sari, said the attack disrupted air traffic.
“Saudi Arabia's airspace has become a theater of military operations,” Sari said, calling on international airlines to suspend flights over the kingdom. He said the holy cities of Mecca and Medina should be exempted.
The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired towards the Riyadh area. Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said the missile was destroyed north of the capital. The claim that the missile hit the airport itself has not been independently verified.
The Flightradar24 platform recorded a disruption in flights to and from King Khalid International Airport for more than an hour. The Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation did not name the perpetrator of the attack, but confirmed that Riyadh airport and Abha international airport were hit.
Three killed, 36 injured
The attacks on the two airports killed three people and wounded 36, Saudi authorities said. A Sudanese citizen was killed at Riyadh airport and eight others were injured. In Abha, Moroccan and Algerian citizens were killed and 28 others were injured.
According to Saudi authorities, material damage was also caused, the amount of which is being assessed. The Houthis said separately that they had attacked Abha airport and a military base in the nearby city of Khamis Mushait, as well as military sites in the Jizan and Asir regions.
The new series of strikes comes amid an offensive by Saudi-backed Yemeni forces along the Red Sea coast. According to the Associated Press, fighting has intensified after the Houthis seized territory in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait area. The Saudi-led coalition also reported the destruction of a missile launch site in Sanaa that had been used to launch attacks on Riyadh.
Sources: apnews.com, aa.com.tr, thenationalnews.com