Three people were killed in a Houthi attack on Riyadh airport on Thursday, Saudi authorities said on Friday, as the Yemen conflict intensified and the group stepped up missile strikes against Saudi Arabia.
Several others were injured in the attacks, while a Saudia Airlines aircraft was damaged and smoke was seen rising over the airport.
The strikes also prompted several airlines to cancel flights to Riyadh, days before the Saudi capital is due to host a major gathering of global oil industry chiefs.
Saudi airstrikes meanwhile targeted Houthi positions in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, overnight, according to Houthi officials and affiliated media.
The strikes formed part of an expanding Saudi-led air campaign aimed at pushing back the Iran-aligned group, which has made territorial gains in Yemen, threatened international shipping and launched attacks on Saudi Arabia.
A Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s government said it had destroyed three missile launch platforms belonging to the Houthis and warned of a firm response to attacks on civilians.
The latest deaths add to casualties from Houthi attacks on Saudi airports earlier this week, which had already killed three people.
Despite the attacks, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said air traffic at Riyadh airport had returned to normal. Flight tracking data also showed flights gradually resuming, including services operated by some Middle Eastern airlines.
Saudia Airlines said one of those killed on Thursday was an employee of the airline.
The escalation comes as Yemen’s civil war becomes a major front in the wider regional conflict that followed the US and Israeli attack on Iran on February 28.
The fighting has also raised concerns for global energy markets, with Houthi attacks targeting shipping in the Red Sea and around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while Iran’s partial blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has further restricted Gulf oil supplies.
The Houthis expanded their control along Yemen’s Red Sea coast last month, taking full control of the coastline around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The move prompted Saudi Arabia to re-enter the conflict and support a government counteroffensive.
Government forces recaptured territory around the Bab el-Mandeb coastline on Monday following heavy Saudi airstrikes, although fighting in the area has continued.
The Houthis have also strengthened their position around Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, by cutting a key road linking the city with government-held areas. Taiz has a population of more than half a million and hosts thousands of pro-government fighters.
The group has repeatedly launched ballistic missiles towards Saudi Arabia and threatened to shut the country’s airspace. It has also warned workers at Saudi oil facilities that they could be targeted.
Saudi Arabia is now seeking assistance from Pakistan and Turkey, its partners under a mutual defence pact, as it works to counter the Houthi attacks and support efforts to reverse the group’s territorial gains in Yemen.
Ojo Triumph
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