Nineteen people have been killed and 364 wounded in attacks by Houthi militia on Saudi airports, including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha International Airport, the Saudi-led coalition said.
“Houthi attacks on the Kingdom have intensified since the beginning of October, following an escalation by the militia against Saudi Arabia since July,” spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said on Thursday at a news conference broadcast by the Saudi Al-Akhbariya News TV.
“King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh had been targeted in 20 Houthi militia attacks since the beginning of October,” he said.
“Seventeen people were killed and 333 others injured in attacks on the airport between October 7 and 11.”
“Two people were also killed and 28 others injured in an attack on Abha International Airport in the southwestern Asir region,” said the spokesperson.
Three others were wounded in an attack targeting King Abdullah International Airport in the southwestern Jazan region, according to coalition figures.
Five Saudi airports, including Riyadh’s main airport, have come under Houthi militia attacks since October 5, causing deaths and injuries as well as property damage and disruptions to air traffic, according to official Saudi sources.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said that the country's Houthi militia had attempted to attack dozens of Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities.
The Houthi militia have been firing ballistic missiles and drones at key Saudi sites for a week, in response to the kingdom's backing of government forces in Yemen's renewed civil war.
The coalition's latest statement highlighted the risk to Saudi civilian infrastructure as the conflict escalated.
Maliki said the Houthis had acquired advanced military technology with the help of "regional actors", including ballistic missiles, drones and explosive-laden fast boats.
The spokesperson also said the coalition had destroyed 127 weapons storage facilities and launch platforms in Yemen's mountainous areas.
He called on the Houthi militia to immediately halt operations targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure and said the militia should read the coalition's statement carefully and "between the lines".
