Saudi authorities reported that three people were killed in attacks on two of the kingdom's international airports, including in the capital, Riyadh, after Yemen's Houthis claimed to have fired on both transport hubs. The Iran-backed fighters earlier took responsibility for a flurry of attacks that included firing a ballistic missile at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport as the conflict deepens with Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen's government.
The Saudi-led coalition that backs pro-government forces in Yemen said it destroyed the ballistic missile launch platform used in the attack on Riyadh. An Egyptian and an Algerian national were killed at Abha airport, and a Sudanese national was killed at the airport in Riyadh, the agency said, with 36 people wounded in the attacks.
Yemen's internationally recognised government this week declared a major counter-offensive and claims to have pushed Houthi fighters out of strategic areas on the Red Sea and the port city of Mocha. But the Iran-backed Houthis say they are holding their territory, and military sources from both sides contacted by AFP have not reported any major changes on the ground.
The fighting has displaced more than 200,000 people within the country, the United Nations said on Wednesday. Yemen's civil war re-erupted in July, and last month the Houthis seized the entire western coastline along the Red Sea in the country's deadliest fighting in years. On Wednesday, new clashes in Yemen's west left at least 62 combatants dead, including 37 Houthis, military sources from both camps told AFP.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Wednesday that the group's armed forces had just targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile. The Saudi-led military coalition that backs Yemen's government had said the missile was intercepted. In a separate post, the Houthis also said they targeted a military supply convoy near the airport in the Yemeni city of Aden, the interim capital for the government.
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. "Life in Mocha has come to a complete standstill," he said.
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 situation on the ground remains uncertain, with claims by the warring parties impossible to independently verify, and access for journalists difficult.
Key points
- Three people were killed and 36 wounded in attacks on two Saudi international airports.
- The conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis has displaced over 200,000 people.
- Yemen's government has declared a major counter-offensive against the Houthis.
