Three people have been killed and dozens wounded in attacks targeting airports in Saudi Arabia, the country’s civil aviation authorities said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
The development comes as fighting between Iran-aligned Houthi forces and Saudi-backed Yemeni government troops intensifies.
One person was killed and eight others were wounded in an attack on King Khalid International Airport in , while two people were killed and 28 were wounded in an attack targeting facilities at Abha airport, according to the civil aviation authorities, as cited by Reuters.
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the attacks, which came amid a wider escalation in and growing fighting around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
A Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government vowed retaliation following the airport attacks, saying they “will not go unpunished”, as per Reuters.
The coalition later said it had carried out strikes on more than 80 military sites across the Yemeni governorates of Saada, Hodeidah, Jawf and Marib, the report said.
The latest Saudi strikes and Houthi attacks mark a sharp escalation in fighting that has increasingly drawn attention to Yemen’s strategic position along one of the world’s key maritime routes.
The attacks on Saudi airports were part of a wider series of strikes on the aviation infrastructure.
Earlier on Wednesday, the attacked Aden International Airport with ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones, according to Yemen’s Transport Ministry.
The latest escalation follows several recent incidents around Riyadh.
On September 18, Saudi-led coalition forces said they had intercepted and destroyed a suspected Houthi ballistic missile launched towards Riyadh from Yemen, according to Al Jazeera.
A day later, on September 19, at least one explosion was heard near Riyadh airport, while a large plume of black smoke was seen rising from a fuel storage area at , an Al Jazeera report said.
The latest fighting has also brought renewed attention to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a narrow maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Battles in Yemen have intensified around areas close to the strait, including territory around the port town of Mocha. Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi-led coalition air support, launched a counteroffensive this week to retake strategic areas captured by the Houthis in September.
With Hormuz emerging as a major chokepoint for energy shipments, the Bab el-Mandeb has come under renewed scrutiny as the Houthis step up attacks and Saudi-backed forces seek to regain control of territory near the strait.
The latest escalation is reviving a conflict that has already devastated Yemen for more than a decade.
Saudi-backed forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally recognised government are now engaged in increasingly intense fighting with the Iran-aligned Houthis, who control large parts of the country and territory around the strategic Red Sea corridor.
The conflict has also created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
More than 200,000 people have been displaced since the latest round of fighting began, the International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday.
With inputs from Reuters.
