Riyadh airport partially reopens as Houthis, Saudi-led coalition continue exchanging attacks
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Riyadh/Sanaa, Oct 26 : King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh partially reopened as Yemen's Houthi group and the Saudi-led coalition continued to exchange attacks, and the Houthis warned airlines and travelers against using the airport.
The airport had suspended operations following a series of Houthi attacks that caused multiple deaths and injuries.
On Sunday, the Houthi group said it had launched dozens of ballistic missiles in three attacks against the kingdom, the first of which targeted King Khalid International Airport and "successfully achieved its objective."
Other attacks targeted King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait and a Saudi Border Guard naval base in Jazan, Xinhua news agency reported.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea renewed a warning to airlines, employees and travelers against using King Khalid International Airport, describing it as "unsafe." He also issued a broader warning against using Saudi airspace while excluding the airspace over Mecca and Medina.
Separately, the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency quoted a military source as warning workers and civilians "not to approach Saudi oil facilities", while cautioning Saudi Aramco shareholders of "losses" if they continued to hold shares in the company.
The Saudi-led coalition on Sunday said it had intercepted and destroyed a total of 12 missiles and two drones launched toward the kingdom, including a ballistic missile and two drones targeting the Riyadh region.
The Saudi General Directorate of Civil Defence said a Saudi citizen and an Asian resident were injured when debris from two intercepted ballistic missiles fell in Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah governorates, while three residential buildings and seven vehicles were damaged.
The Houthi group said Sunday's attacks came in response to what it described as "Saudi aggression" on Sanaa and other Houthi-held areas a day earlier that left "dozens of people killed or wounded, including women and children."
Earlier Sunday, Sarea said Saudi forces had carried out 56 air and missile strikes over the past 24 hours, targeting what he described as "civilian sites" in the provinces of Hajjah, Lahj, Amran, Saada, Al-Jawf, Taiz and Ibb.
A local security official told Xinhua that loud explosions were heard later on Sunday in Yemen's southern port city of Aden, concentrated around the Salah al-Din area of Al-Buraiqa district, a strategically important area that hosts key military bases of government forces and the Saudi-led coalition.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, nor were there comments from the Houthi group.
The latest exchanges come amid a sharp escalation between the Houthi group and Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition, with intensified ground fighting accompanied by Saudi-led airstrikes on Houthi-held areas and Houthi missile and drone attacks on government-held territory.
Also on Sunday, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy said during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Cairo that the league rejected attacks on Arab countries and reaffirmed its solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its right to defend its security and sovereignty.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the conflict in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
The airport had suspended operations following a series of Houthi attacks that caused multiple deaths and injuries.
On Sunday, the Houthi group said it had launched dozens of ballistic missiles in three attacks against the kingdom, the first of which targeted King Khalid International Airport and "successfully achieved its objective."
Other attacks targeted King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait and a Saudi Border Guard naval base in Jazan, Xinhua news agency reported.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea renewed a warning to airlines, employees and travelers against using King Khalid International Airport, describing it as "unsafe." He also issued a broader warning against using Saudi airspace while excluding the airspace over Mecca and Medina.
Separately, the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency quoted a military source as warning workers and civilians "not to approach Saudi oil facilities", while cautioning Saudi Aramco shareholders of "losses" if they continued to hold shares in the company.
The Saudi-led coalition on Sunday said it had intercepted and destroyed a total of 12 missiles and two drones launched toward the kingdom, including a ballistic missile and two drones targeting the Riyadh region.
The Saudi General Directorate of Civil Defence said a Saudi citizen and an Asian resident were injured when debris from two intercepted ballistic missiles fell in Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah governorates, while three residential buildings and seven vehicles were damaged.
The Houthi group said Sunday's attacks came in response to what it described as "Saudi aggression" on Sanaa and other Houthi-held areas a day earlier that left "dozens of people killed or wounded, including women and children."
Earlier Sunday, Sarea said Saudi forces had carried out 56 air and missile strikes over the past 24 hours, targeting what he described as "civilian sites" in the provinces of Hajjah, Lahj, Amran, Saada, Al-Jawf, Taiz and Ibb.
A local security official told Xinhua that loud explosions were heard later on Sunday in Yemen's southern port city of Aden, concentrated around the Salah al-Din area of Al-Buraiqa district, a strategically important area that hosts key military bases of government forces and the Saudi-led coalition.
There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, nor were there comments from the Houthi group.
The latest exchanges come amid a sharp escalation between the Houthi group and Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition, with intensified ground fighting accompanied by Saudi-led airstrikes on Houthi-held areas and Houthi missile and drone attacks on government-held territory.
Also on Sunday, Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy said during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Cairo that the league rejected attacks on Arab countries and reaffirmed its solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its right to defend its security and sovereignty.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the conflict in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
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