CAIRO — Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Wednesday claimed attacks on military facilities and airports in neighboring Saudi Arabia as the escalation deepened the latest front in the Iran war and threatened a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthis’ military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, said on social media that the rebels launched ballistic missiles and drones in the attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport in the capital, Riyadh, but did not provide evidence.
Flights to and from the airport were briefly disrupted, according to Flightradar24, a tracking platform.
Saree said Abha airport, a frequent target of Houthi drones and missiles, was targeted. The rebels also claimed to have hit an air base in the city of Khamis Mushait and two military bases, Najran and Asir. All are in southwestern Saudi Arabia and near the border with Yemen.
The spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said they intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile north of Riyadh.
The departure terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh in April.AFP via Getty
Saudi Arabia and allied Yemeni forces in recent days have launched a major ground and air offensive against the Houthis in an attempt to retake territory that the rebels seized about a month ago along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast and on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Those positions gave the rebels better surveillance of shipping as they pursue a blockade of Saudi vessels.
On Monday, officials said forces of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen recaptured several key areas around the strait.
The fighting has since then centered in and around the crucial town of Dhubab, some 30 miles south of the port city of Mokha, according to both the Houthis and the Yemeni government.
Clashes were also reported in the district of Waziayah in southwestern Taiz province, which links Yemen’s mountainous highlands to the Red Sea, and overlooks roads to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
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The Houthis also said they launched a missile strike early Wednesday against Yemen’s port city of Aden, the seat of the internationally recognized government. An Associated Press journalist heard explosions around 2 a.m. (7 p.m. Tuesday ET).
The rebels hit a military camp close to the Aden airport with ballistic missiles, Saree said.
Security authorities in Aden said the Houthis targeted the airport with two missiles, with no casualties. The airport is close to the seat of government.
“The targeting of this vital civilian facility represents a direct threat to the safety of civilians, passengers, employees and flight crews,” the Aden police said in a statement.
The attack on the Aden airport threatened “a humanitarian disaster,” as one missile hit close to the runway just before the scheduled landing of a flight from Cairo, the Human Rights Ministry said.
Flight 603, operated by Yemen’s flagship airline, landed safely in Aden at 3:30 a.m., according to flight tracking platform FlightAware.
The ministry said the missile hit as other passengers were waiting to board their flight to the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.
“The Houthis believe that they can maximize Saudi economic costs and compel Saudi Arabia to surrender to Houthi demands by striking civilian infrastructure, such as oil facilities and airports,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, wrote in an analysis.