Riyadh says the country’s air defenses are interfering with and destroying a drone as Houthis says an attack hit a target with ‘high accuracy’.
Saudi Arabia said it destroyed a Houthi drone attack at an airport on Saturday just days before the new U.S. administration stopped plotting Yemeni rebels as a “terrorist” group.
Saudi air guards “entered and destroyed a drone with explosives launched by the Houthis against Abha airport” in southwestern Saudi Arabia, the Saudi-led coalition said who fought against the rebels in a statement.
The Houthis confirmed an attack Saturday at the airport.
“The Royal Air Force attacked a key target at Awe International Airport. The attack hit their target with great accuracy, “the rebel group Yehia Serae said on Twitter, without giving details.
On Saturday afternoon, in retaliation for the aggressive attacks, the military escalation and the ongoing siege of our Yemeni people, the Air Force attacked an important target at Awe International Airport. The attack hit his target with great accuracy.
– Yahya Sare’e (@Yahya_Saree) February 13, 2021
Abha airport was targeted in a separate attack by the rebels on Wednesday, when a drone attack left a civilian plane at a standstill.
The Houthis say the airport, just over 100km (60 miles) from the border with Yemen, is a legitimate target as it has been used as the basis for the coalition’s bombing campaign that has been widely criticized there. in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia and its allies say Houthi attacks on the airport mean “war crimes” as the airport is heavily used by Saudis enjoying a milder climate than the. mountain around Abha.
A drone attack on Wednesday came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he would pick up the Houthis “terrorist group” designation imposed by former leader Mike Pompeo.
The designation has been widely criticized by aid agencies, which warned it would hamper their efforts to reduce what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Despite nearly six years of Saudi Arabian-led military operations, the Houthis control the Yemeni capital Sanaa and much of the north, and aid agencies say they have little choice but to working with them.
The State Department condemned Wednesday’s attack on the airport but Blinken said the “terrorist” group designation of the Houthi movement would still be lifted as planned on Tuesday.
He said sanctions on individual Houthi leaders would remain in place.
“The United States still has a clear eye on Ansarullah’s malignant and aggressive actions,” Blinken said, referring to the Houthi movement with the formal name.