Coalition foils Yemeni rebel attack on Saudi Abha airport

By Ibrahim al-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen late on Wednesday announced it had thwarted a "hostile attack" on the Abha airport in the southwestern Kingdom that injured four airport workers.

A coalition statement cited by the Saudi state-run news agency SPA said: “Saudi air defenses intercepted a booby-trapped drone that attempted to assault the Abha airport.”

According to the coalition, shrapnel from the interception were spread around the airport, injuring four airport personnel.

The coalition accused the Yemeni Houthi group of attempting to target civilians in the airport, calling the attack “a war crime”.

In another statement, the coalition said it destroyed a launch site from where the drone was fired in Saada province, northern Yemen, a stronghold of the Yemeni rebels.

The Houthi group, backed by Iran, regularly launches rocket and drone attacks on Saudi territories, saying they are in reaction to the Saudi-led coalition’s assault on Yemen.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthis overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict has claimed more than 233,000 lives.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara