Saudi-led coalition confirms Houthi missile attack on Abha airport, says 20+ people injured

The Saudi-led coalition currently embroiled in Yemen’s civil war has confirmed that a missile launched by Houthi rebels, in the early hours of Wednesday, struck Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport, injuring 26 people.

Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al Maliki said the missile hit the airport at 2:21am local time, according to a statement cited by the Saudi Press Agency. It follows earlier reports on Houthi television that rebels had successfully targeted the airport with a cruise missile.

Al Malki added that eight of the wounded were admitted to hospital while a further 18 were released after being treated for minor injuries. The airport is now operating as normal, Reuters reports.

The attack followed an earlier interception, by Saudi air defense systems on Tuesday, of two Houthi combat drones that targeted a military base on the kingdom’s southern border with Yemen. 

Saudi Arabia has led an alliance of mainly Arab governments as part of a military intervention in Yemen since 2015’s ousting of Yemeni President Mansour Hadi. Backed by a supply of arms and training by Western allies, the coalition has been continuously accused of war crimes for striking civilian targets and for leading a blockade that has put millions of Yemenis on the brink of famine.

The coalition denied targeting civilians on purpose and has conducted its own investigations into some of the airstrikes. It also pinned the blame on rebels who sought cover among civilians.