Saudi Arabia: nine injured in Houthi attack on Abha Airport

Arab Coalition says eight Saudis and one Indian were hurt

This file photo shows the welcoming sign at Abha Airport in the popular mountain resort of the same name in the southwest of Saudi Arabia on June 13, 2019. AFP

Nine people were injured in a Houthi rebel attack on Abha Airport in Saudi Arabia overnight on Monday, the Arab Coalition said.

The Saudi-led coalition, which is fighting in support of the government of Yemen, said that the nine civilians injured in the drone attack included one Indian and eight Saudis. All were in stable condition.

A statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency called the incident a "terrorist attack".

A spokesman for the Houthis said the group had carried out a “large operation” targeting the airport, according to the group’s Al Masirah TV.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV also said Abha Airport had resumed flights.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who are fighting in neighbouring Yemen, have recently stepped up attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia.

On June 12, a rebel missile attack on Abha airport wounded 26 civilians, drawing promises of "stern action" from the coalition.

A Syrian resident of Saudi Arabia last month died from wounds sustained in an earlier drone attack on Abha Airport that was claimed by the Houthis.

The raids come amid heightened regional tensions after Washington – a key ally of Riyadh – accused Iran of shooting down a US drone over international waters and of carrying out attacks on oil tankers in the strategic Gulf of Oman.

Following recent attacks, Saudi state media have reported an intensification of coalition air raids on rebel positions in the northern Yemeni province of Hajjah and the Houthi-held capital Sanaa.

The coalition intervened in support of the Yemeni government in 2015 when President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi fled into Saudi exile as the rebels closed in on his last remaining territory in and around the second city Aden.