Saudi airport attacks: Houthis target Riyadh and Abha, 39 casualties reported

Saudi authorities said Wednesday three people were killed in attacks on two of the kingdoms international airports including in the capital Riyadh after Yemens Houthis claimed to have fired on both transport hubsThe Iranbacked Houthis have claimed a wave of attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure in recent weeks which came as Riyadhbacked forces pressed a counteroffensive against the groups territorial gainsSince Yemens civil war reignited in July more than 200000 people have been displaced within the country the United Nations said WednesdayThe Houthis claimed an attack on Riyadhs main airport while the Saudiled coalition which backs Yemens internationally recognised government in its fight against the group vowed retaliationThe Houthis later claimed another attack on Riyadhs King Khalid International Airport on Thursday and repeated a warning for the last time to airlines to avoid Saudi airspaceOn Tuesday and Wednesday Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport were subjected to attacks targeting their facilities Saudi Arabias civil aviation authority said in a statementAn Egyptian and an Algerian national were killed at Abha airport while a Sudanese national was killed at Riyadh airport the agency saidThe attacks wounded 36 people it addedIn a subsequent statement the coalition directly blamed Houthi fighters for the strikes and vowed a responseThe brutal attacks by the Terrorist Houthi Militia on civilian and civilian objects in the Kingdom most recently targeting the two airports will not go unpunished it wrote on XThe coalition said it had retaliated by striking 82 legitimate military targets including missile facilities command centres communications systems and Houthi gathering sitesYemens government declared a major counteroffensive against the Houthis this week claiming to have pushed the fighters out of strategic areas on the Red Sea and the port city of MochaBut the Houthis insist they are holding their territory and military sources from both sides contacted by AFP have not reported any major changes on the groundClaims by the warring parties have been impossible to independently verify with the situation moving fast and access for journalists difficultFlight divertedHouthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Wednesday that the group had targeted Riyadhs airport in an accurate strike that led to a disruption of air trafficThe Saudiled military coalition said on X it destroyed the ballistic missile launch platform used in the attackThe Houthis also said they targeted a military supply convoy near the airport in Aden the interim capital for Yemens governmentThe governments Saba news agency reported missiles and drones targeting that airportThe agency cited transport authorities as saying one of the missiles landed near the runway minutes before the scheduled arrival of a flight from Cairo which was forced to divert to Jeddah in Saudi ArabiaHouthi drones and missiles also targeted Saudi Arabias Abha airport and King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait Houthi spokesman Saree said claiming they had hit their targets accuratelyIt is the second time this week Houthis claimed to have attacked Riyadhs main airportTerrifiedSaudi Arabia has led an international coalition fighting the Houthis since 2015 and is now trying to roll back the groups latest advanceThe coalition said Monday it was providing air support for the Yemeni governments counteroffensiveAfter four years of ceasefire the Houthis claimed last month they had seized Yemens entire western coastline along the Red Sea in the countrys deadliest fighting in yearsNew clashes on Wednesday in Yemens west left at least 62 combatants dead including 37 Houthis military sources from both camps told AFPSaba also reported that a Houthi missile wounded five civilians in Taiz a city held by government forcesWe went out into the street to check on the wounded and saw young civilians who had been hit resident AlFateh alEisaei told AFPThe Houthi shell landed in the middle of the street right in an area crowded with civiliansYemens government has announced a goal of retaking all Houthi territory home to most of the countrys population and much of it held for more than a decadeThe humanitarian crisis caused by the war has left most of the nations population dependent on aidMohammed a 33yearold charity worker who fled from Mocha to Aden told AFP on Tuesday that people there are terrified of the HouthisThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever