In brief
In the last 48 hours Houthi forces fired missiles and drones at Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport, killing two foreigners and a Sudanese citizen. The incidents are part of the broader Yemen conflict, prompting a declared retaliation by the Saudi‑led coalition. International bodies urge restraint amid concerns that the violence could threaten shipping through the Bab al‑Mandab Strait.
Three people died in attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh over the past two days, officials say, as the Yemeni conflict with Iranian‑backed Houthis spills into the kingdom’s northern borders.
The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation reported that two people—both women of Moroccan and Algerian nationality—were killed and 28 others injured at Abha, while one Sudanese man was killed and eight wounded at King Khalid Airport. In a statement, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed the attacks were carried out with ballistic missiles and drones against Saudi infrastructure.
These raids occur amid a sharp uptick in hostilities following Houthi advances that captured key coastal positions in the Red Sea region, including the port of Mokha and the strategic Bab al‑Mandab Strait. The Saudi‑led coalition has vowed retaliation, targeting over 80 Houthi sites in the north‑west and south‑west of Yemen.
The escalation has drawn condemnation from the United Nations and other international actors, who warn that sustained attacks on civilian transport hubs could jeopardise global shipping lanes while inflating civilian casualties in an already humanitarian‑crisis‑laden region.
