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Yemen’s Houthi Rebels Strike Two Airports in Saudi Arabia
Attacks come as Saudi-backed forces launch a counteroffensive seeking to push the Houthis back from crucial Red Sea coast
DUBAI—Attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels damaged two airports in southern Saudi Arabia near the border with the war-torn nation, the kingdom said Tuesday, marking the latest escalation in fighting that threatens global energy markets.
The attacks come after the kingdom and its allies in Yemen launched a counteroffensive seeking to retake territory along the Red Sea. The Houthis’ presence along the coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait threatens to further squeeze regional oil supplies.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport, a dual-use airport in the Red Sea city of Jazan, and Najran International Airport, were damaged in the strikes. Three people were wounded, the agency said.
The acceleration in the fighting in Yemen has made the country the most active battlefield in the wider conflict with Iran, with the Iranian-backed Houthis fighting against Saudi Arabia for control of a vital chokepoint in the global energy network.
In a military statement late Monday claiming strikes in the area of the airports, the Houthis again warned “all international airlines using Saudi airspace” to halt their flights, except those over the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has warned airlines that “recurrent missile and drone attacks, together with the activation of air-defense systems, create an increased risk of misidentification of civil aircraft.” The Houthis in the past have hit aircraft on the ground in their attacks, but haven’t shot down a commercial airliner in flight.
“These attacks keep destabilizing the region, igniting further violence and undermining global energy security,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
The Houthis have claimed a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days, many of which have gone unacknowledged or been denied by Riyadh. Saudi officials put out new warnings to the public on Tuesday that filming and sharing images of drone and missile attacks, or interceptions could bring legal charges.
The Houthis also reported ongoing intense bombardments from Saudi aircraft.
The war in Yemen began in 2014, when the Houthis swept into the capital, San’a. A Saudi-led coalition entered the war on behalf of Yemen’s internationally recognized government in 2015. The conflict has killed more than 150,000 people, displaced millions and pushed the Arab world’s poorest nation to the brink of famine.
The war had been in an uneasy ceasefire for years, with Saudi Arabia funding salaries for government employees in Houthi-held areas. But as tensions rose in recent months, the Houthis launched a new offensive in September, claiming new territory and seizing a strategic island in the Red Sea.
Their attack also coincided with more oil making its way out of the Strait of Hormuz, as the U.S. military maintains a blockade and Tehran continues to launch attacks on passing energy shipments.
The Houthis’ position on the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb has meant they can pressure Saudi Arabia over its outgoing energy shipments. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, last month asked President Trump for military help against the Houthis, but the president has limited America’s involvement to providing intelligence and other indirect support, according to a U.S. military official.
