The Japan Times - Saudi says three dead in airport attacks claimed by Houthis

The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed a wave of attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure in recent weeks, which came as Riyadh-backed forces pressed a counter-offensive against the group's territorial gains.

Since Yemen's civil war reignited in July, more than 200,000 people have been displaced within the country, the United Nations said Wednesday.

The Houthis claimed an attack on Riyadh's main airport, while the Saudi-led coalition -- which backs Yemen's internationally recognised government in its fight against the group -- vowed retaliation.

The Houthis later claimed another attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Thursday and repeated a warning -- "for the last time" -- to airlines to avoid Saudi airspace.

"On Tuesday and Wednesday... Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport were subjected to attacks targeting their facilities," Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said in a statement.

An Egyptian and an Algerian national were killed at Abha airport, while a Sudanese national was killed at Riyadh airport, the agency said.

The attacks wounded 36 people, it added.

In a subsequent statement, the coalition directly blamed Houthi fighters for the strikes and vowed a response.

"The 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 X.

The coalition said it had retaliated by striking 82 "legitimate military targets", including missile facilities, command centres, communications systems and Houthi gathering sites.

Yemen's government declared a major counter-offensive against the Houthis this week, claiming to have pushed the fighters out of strategic areas on the Red Sea and the port city of Mocha.

But 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 ground.

Claims by the warring parties have been impossible to independently verify with the situation moving fast and access for journalists difficult.

- Flight diverted -

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Wednesday that the group had targeted Riyadh's airport in an "accurate" strike that "led to a disruption of air traffic."

The Saudi-led military coalition said on X it "destroyed the ballistic missile launch platform" used in the attack.

The Houthis also said they targeted a military supply convoy near the airport in Aden, the interim capital for Yemen's government.

The government's Saba news agency reported missiles and drones targeting that airport.

The 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 Arabia.

Houthi drones and missiles also targeted Saudi Arabia's Abha airport and King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, Houthi spokesman Saree said, claiming they had "hit their targets accurately".

It is the second time this week Houthis claimed to have attacked Riyadh's main airport.

- 'Terrified' -

Saudi Arabia has led an international coalition fighting the Houthis since 2015, and is now trying to roll back the group's latest advance.

The coalition said Monday it was providing air support for the Yemeni government's counter-offensive.

After four years of ceasefire, the Houthis claimed last month they had seized Yemen's entire western coastline along the Red Sea in the country's deadliest fighting in years.

New clashes on Wednesday in Yemen's west left at least 62 combatants dead, including 37 Houthis, military sources from both camps told AFP.

Saba also reported that a Houthi missile wounded five civilians in Taiz, a city held by government forces.

"We went out into the street to check on the wounded and saw young civilians who had been hit," resident Al-Fateh al-Eisaei told AFP.

"The Houthi shell landed in the middle of the street, right in an area crowded with civilians."

Yemen's government has announced a goal of retaking all Houthi territory -- home to most of the country's population, and much of it held for more than a decade.

The humanitarian crisis caused by the war has left most of the nation's population dependent on aid.

Mohammed, a 33-year-old charity worker who fled from Mocha to Aden, told AFP on Tuesday that "people there are terrified" of the Houthis.

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T.Ueda--JT