DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Yemeni Houthi rebels on Wednesday targeted an airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia with bomb-laden drones, which caused a civilian plane to catch fire on the tarmac, the state’s television report. The attack threatened Yemen’s impending war.
No one was injured in the attack, but the damaged passenger plane at Abha airport was a powerful reminder of the danger Houthi rebels pose to Saudi Arabia, which launched a bombing campaign nearly six years ago targeting the poorest country of the Arab world.
The Iranian Houthis soon accepted responsibility for the assault, with military spokeswoman Yehia Sarea stressing that the Houthis did not view Abha airport as a military, not a civilian target.
“This goal comes in response to the continuing airstrikes and the brutal siege of our country,” Sarea said, adding that the group was attacked with four bombed-out drones.
Col. Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen, said troops had earlier intercepted and destroyed two drones heading south into the country. He condemned the assault as a ‘systematic and deliberate attempt to target civilians’.
Photos later broadcast by Saudi state television showed the plane, a 3-year-old Airbus A320 flown by the cheap airline FlyADeal. It appears that the drone struck a hole through its hull, with scorching marks on the metal. An anchor on state television said there were no injuries on the ground. FlyADeal did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Since 2015, the Houthis fighting the Saudi-led military coalition have targeted international airports, as well as military installations and critical oil infrastructure, within Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have repeatedly used drones against Saudi Arabia, including trapping them in the kingdom’s Patriot missile batteries, recently Sunday when the coalition said it was intercepting five “booby-trapped” drones. These attacks, which often took place near the southern cities of Abha and Jizan, have wounded dozens over the past few years, killing at least one person.
In late January, U.S. troops stationed at Prince Sultan Air Force Base near Riyadh trained Saudi troops to combat the threat by drones, which could fly low on the ground, dodge radar and hit targets in the air. kingdom can explode.
In November 2017, the Houthi’s even reached Riyadh International Airport, deep within the kingdom. No one was injured during the attack, which was the first time a Houthi missile had come so close to a heavily populated center. Riyadh is about 1000 kilometers north of the border with Yemen.
Saudi officials blamed Iran for supplying ballistic missiles to the Houthis used in such attacks on the kingdom. Tehran denies arming the Houthis, despite the contrary.
The attack late Wednesday afternoon was reportedly the first to affect a civilian aircraft at the plant. Flight detection sites showed delayed and canceled flights that would take off or land at the airport. Flights at Abha airport were resumed some time after the attack.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Foreign Secretary Antony Blinken had spoken to his Saudi counterparts after the strike. He reiterated the US assurance that America intends to help Saudi Arabia increase its ability to defend itself.
‘Houthi leaders will do themselves a disservice if they think this government is going to give up the pressure. … They will come under significant pressure. He said the United States would have more to say in the coming days.
White House spokesman Jen Psaki condemned the attack, saying the Houthis’ “have a constant desire to prolong the war”.
Over the past few weeks, the Houthi have accelerated their efforts to seize control of Marib’s oil-rich fortress of Yemen and increased their cross-border attacks on the kingdom. On Tuesday, UN envoy Martin Griffiths said he was “extremely concerned” about hostilities in Marib, especially in a time of “renewed diplomatic momentum”.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Yemen’s new envoy Timothy Lenderking on Wednesday, Saudi state media reported to discuss efforts to reach a political solution to the conflict.
The Yemeni war began in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital Sanaa and much of the north of the country. Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates and other countries, intervened months later to oust the Houthis and restore the internationally recognized government. The war killed about 130,000 people and caused the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
President Joe Biden put the spotlight on the brutal conflict and declared last week that the United States would end its support for the Saudi-led military offensive, including ‘relevant’ arms sales. The government has also moved to lift a terrorist designation against the Houthis, citing the need to mitigate Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.
But Biden stressed that the US would help Saudi Arabia defend itself against outside attacks, as part of maintaining key security, terrorism and military ties with the kingdom, a strategic partner and a global oil giant.
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Associated Press authors Jon Gambrell in Dubai, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report.