Three civilians have been killed and 36 injured in Houthi-claimed attacks on two airports in Saudi Arabia, according to a statement from the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).
Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh were targeted in two separate attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The attack on Abha International Airport killed two female residents, a Moroccan and an Algerian, and injured 28 others, GACA reported.
The attack on King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh killed a Sudanese citizen and injured eight residents, including five Saudi citizens.
GACA said it is working “in full integration and continuous coordination with the relevant security authorities” to assess the damage and take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of passengers and workers.
The spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, Major-General Turki al-Maliki, said forces intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh and destroyed a platform in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, that had been used to launch attacks on the Saudi capital.
Previous attacks on Saudi airports
New cage-like fences have been erected this week around fuel tanks and other equipment of the Saudi state-run Aramco oil company near the Riyadh airport.
On September 18, Saudi-led coalition forces said they intercepted and destroyed a suspected Houthi ballistic missile fired towards the airport in Riyadh from Yemen.
A day later, on September 19, at least one explosion was heard near the airport in Riyadh, and a large plume of black smoke was seen rising from a fuel storage area at King Khalid International Airport.
Saudi-backed Yemeni forces from the country’s internationally recognised government are locked in escalating combat with Iran-aligned Houthi forces who seized a broad swathe of territory astride the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
Yemen’s internationally recognised government said the Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones against Aden airport early on Wednesday. No casualties were reported.
Meanwhile, the United States embassy in Riyadh has issued another security alert for Americans in Saudi Arabia due to the ongoing security situation, reminding “all US citizens to exercise heightened vigilance”.
Source: Al Jazeera
-Agencies
