Three people have been killed and dozens injured in attacks on airports in Saudi Arabia as fighting intensifies in Yemen between the Iran-aligned Houthi movement and Saudi-backed government forces.
Saudi civil aviation authorities said one person was killed and eight others wounded in an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, while two people were killed and 28 injured in an attack on facilities at Abha airport.
One of the attacks occurred on Wednesday and the other on Tuesday, although the authorities did not specify which attack took place on which day.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis vowed retaliation, saying the attacks “will not go unpunished”. Late Wednesday, the coalition said it had struck more than 80 Houthi military sites across the governorates of Saada, Hodeidah, Jawf and Marib.
The Saudi airport attacks came as the Houthis launched their own strikes against aviation infrastructure in Yemen. Yemen’s Transport Ministry said Aden International Airport was targeted by ballistic missiles and drones carrying explosives.
One missile landed near the runway shortly before a flight from Cairo was due to land, according to the ministry. Aden airport is the main international gateway for areas of Yemen outside Houthi control.
The Saudi-led coalition also said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile north of Riyadh on Wednesday. It said the launch platform was being tracked in Houthi-controlled Sanaa and would be destroyed, without providing further details on casualties or damage.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had targeted King Khalid International Airport with several drones.
The latest escalation comes as fighting has intensified around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping route that has become increasingly important for energy exports since the wider US-Iran conflict disrupted trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi-led coalition air strikes, launched a counteroffensive this week to recapture strategic territory near the strait and around Mocha, which the Houthis seized in September. However, it remains unclear whether the government forces will be able to hold their gains.
The renewed fighting has also displaced more than 200,000 people, the International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday. IOM Director General Amy Pope said people were “running for their lives and finding nowhere safe to go” and called for more funding to meet growing needs for food and shelter.
Both sides have claimed hundreds of deaths in the fighting without providing detailed figures, while the United Nations has warned that three in four families in parts of Yemen are going hungry.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including airports, oil refineries and pipelines. On Wednesday, the group also claimed responsibility for attacks on Saudi targets.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has been seeking international support as the conflict escalates. Turkey is providing mainly defensive and technical assistance, while Syria is considering whether to provide military support to Saudi Arabia, according to US and Syrian officials.
The Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, prompting Saudi Arabia to lead a military coalition into Yemen over concerns about Iranian influence and instability along its border. The Saudi-led coalition accuses Iran of arming, training and funding the Houthis, allegations denied by both the group and Tehran.
