UPDATES WITH SAUDI-LED COALITION’S STATEMENT
By Idiris Okuduci and Cagri Kosak
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AA) – Iran-backed Houthi drones targeted an airport and an airbase in southwestern Saudi Arabia on Monday, the Yemeni rebel group said.
King Khalid Air Base in the Khamis Mushait province and the International Abha Airport were targeted with explosive-laden three drones, Yahya Sarei, a Houthi military spokesperson, said in a statement on Twitter.
"The strike was accurate," he said, adding that the attack came in response to Saudi Arabia's continued blockade and attacks on Houthis.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen confirmed the attack, saying in a statement that it had destroyed a booby-trapped drone fired by Houthi rebels towards Khamis Mushait, according to the Saudi SPA News Agency.
Yemen has been wracked by violence and instability since 2014, when Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.
A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises with nearly 80% or about 30 million of its people needing humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million in danger of starving to death.
* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara.
