Three people killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia airports, officials say

As flare-up of fighting spilled throughout the Yemen border into the kingdom, three individuals have been killed in attacks on Saudi Arabia airports over two days, authorities stated.

Key points

• But Yemeni pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia have since remarked they had "secured" the Bab al-Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea.
• The spokesperson remarked the Saudi coalition had targeted more than 80 Houthi military sites throughout "governorates of Saada, Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf and Ma'rib".
• The Saudi-led coalition formed in 2015 after Arab countries joined forces to stop the Houthis taking over Yemen from the country's internationally recognised administration.
• The UN remarked on Wednesday more than 200, 000 residents have been displaced by the escalation.
• In a separate incident, one person was killed and eight were wounded in an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, it continued.

Two individuals were killed and 28 wounded in an attack at Abha International Airport, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) stated in an official note on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the attacks, which the Houthis have asserted responsibility for, mark an escalation in the renewed war between the Saudi-backed administration forces and the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

Meanwhile, the two airports were attacked on 6 and 7 October, according to Gaca. It did not specify when each airport was hit.

Two women, of Moroccan and Algerian nationalities, were killed during the Abha airport attack, near the Yemen border, according to Gaca.

Meanwhile, a male resident of Sudanese nationality was killed at King Khalid airport, it continued.

In practice, the country's civil aviation authority did not name who was responsible for the attacks, but Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, remarked its armed forces had attacked both Saudi Arabia airports with ballistic missiles and drones.

In practice, the Houthi military spokesperson additionally stated the Houthis attacked Aden's International Airport in Yemen on Wednesday. The airport is a main international gateway for parts of Yemen outside of Houthi control and has been repeatedly targeted when fighting erupts in the country.

Saree remarked the two attacks on Saudi Arabia's airports were in "response to the Saudi aggression against our country" which saw "60 airstrikes and missile attacks in the past 24 hours".

Meanwhile, the civil war in Yemen has worsened in recent weeks, after the Houthis. This person control most of the country's north-west, seized strategically significant stretches of the Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive.

That included the port of Mokha on the Bab al-Mandab Strait. It is the narrowest point of the Red Sea and a chokepoint for global shipping.

They additionally declared an all out war in a bid to take all territory held by the Houthis.

In an official note issued late on Wednesday, the official spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition remarked the Houthis' attacks on Saudi Arabia's airports "will not go unpunished".

Notably, the spokesperson remarked the Saudi coalition had targeted more than 80 Houthi military sites throughout "governorates of Saada, Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf and Ma'rib".

In practice, the Saudi-led coalition formed in 2015 after Arab countries joined forces to stop the Houthis taking over Yemen from the country's internationally recognised administration.

In practice, a temporary ceasefire was brokered in 2022 after years of air strikes and ground fighting led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of individuals, triggering one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has condemned "the continued Houthi cross-border attacks" on Saudi Arabia and remarked he was "deeply concerned by the sharp escalation in fighting".

Hundreds of individuals have reportedly been killed on both sides since the latest Houthis' advance.

Notably, the UN remarked on Wednesday more than 200, 000 residents have been displaced by the escalation.

In short, three people killed in Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia airports, officials say is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.