The Iran-backed Houthis struck two airports in Saudi Arabia, killing three people and injuring dozens as the militant group intensifies its attacks on the kingdom while fighting Saudi-backed forces in Yemen.
King Khalid International Airport in the capital, Riyadh, and Abha airport in the southwestern region came under fire on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the two strikes causing damage, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement. The Houthis claimed to have attacked both airports.
A Sudanese man was killed in the assault on the Riyadh airport, according to GACA. Five Saudi nationals, two Egyptians and a Pakistani resident were injured.
Two women, one Moroccan and one Algerian, were killed in the strike on Abha International Airport, where 28 people, including Saudi citizens, sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious.
GACA said it was working to “assess the damage, verify the safety of the facilities and take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of passengers and maintain the security and safety of operations within the Kingdom’s civil aviation system.”
In retaliation, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it had destroyed 82 military targets belonging to the Houthis in Saada, Hodeida, Jawf and Marib. These included ballistic missile storage sites and command and control centers, a spokesman for the coalition said in a post on X. Houthi attacks on civilian sites in the kingdom “will not go unpunished,” the spokesman, Turki Al-Malki, said.
The coalition said early Wednesday that it intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh launched by the Houthis and later announced it had destroyed the launch platform used in the attack. The platform was in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and was being prepared for another strike on Saudi Arabia, the spokesman added.
The assaults on the Saudi airports follow a military campaign launched earlier this week by Yemen’s internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government to “eliminate” the Houthis, a group rooted in northern Yemen. The Yemeni armed forces claimed to have taken control of Red Sea areas.
UK Maritime Trade Operations said separately that a tanker was struck by projectiles off the coast of Qatar on Wednesday. It was the first reported strike on a tanker deep within the Persian Gulf in about a month.
The attack comes as tensions between Washington and Tehran heat up again. The White House has asked the Pentagon to draw up military options against Iran that could be executed before the US midterm elections, The Atlantic reported, citing two administration officials. Those backing the attack plan believe it could allow Trump to demonstrate strength and potentially declare some sort of victory ahead of the vote, it said.
The possibility of renewed US strikes on Iran helped push Brent crude up 1.1% to over $101 a barrel.
Houthi Threats
The Houthis, one of Tehran’s main proxy militant groups, took over Sanaa in 2014 and announced a blockade of Saudi ports, claiming the kingdom was besieging parts of Yemen.
Fighting picked up in early September, when the group started firing on Saudi Arabia almost daily and advanced south from their stronghold in northwest Yemen toward the Bab el-Mandeb, a crucial strait for energy tankers and container ships. That passage became even more vital after the Iran war endangered ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthi group’s missile threats originate from Sanaa as well as Saada and Amran in the country’s northwestern region, according to the Saudi-led coalition. GACA previously said Jazan and Najran airports were targeted in attacks on Monday, causing damage and injuring three people.
–With assistance from Stephen Stapczynski, Weilun Soon, Jon Herskovitz and Michael Heath.
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Bloomberg news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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