Saudi Arabia says 3 injured in attacks on 2 airports in country’s south amid escalation with Houthis

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that three people were injured in attacks that targeted two airports in the country’s south a day earlier, causing material damage.

In a statement, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said attackers targeted facilities at King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jazan and Najran International Airport.

Emergency teams and relevant authorities responded immediately in accordance with approved procedures, it said.

The attacks left three people with minor injuries, who were taken to hospital for medical treatment, while material damage was also reported.

The aviation authority said it was working with relevant security agencies to assess the damage and take necessary measures to ensure the safety of passengers, employees, and the kingdom’s civil aviation system.

The statement did not identify who carried out the attacks.

Separately, an explosion was heard in the Saudi capital Riyadh, residents told AFP on Tuesday, with the blast echoing in the northern parts of the city.

Yemen’s Houthis, however, said earlier on Monday that they had carried out a series of missile and drone attacks across Saudi Arabia, including against what they described as “sensitive sites” in Jazan and Najran.

The group also claimed attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Abha Airport, an Aramco refinery in Rabigh and military sites.

Saudi Arabia on Monday condemned Houthi attacks targeting civilian and economic facilities across the kingdom, accusing the group of pursuing military escalation.

Jordan, Gulf bloc condemn Houthi attacks on Saudi civilian infrastructure

Jordan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Tuesday condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including strikes targeting two airports in the country’s south.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi spoke by phone with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan and expressed Jordan’s “absolute solidarity” with Saudi Arabia in the face of Houthi attacks, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Safadi said Amman supports all measures taken by Riyadh to protect its security, stability, sovereignty and citizens.

He reiterated Jordan’s condemnation of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including attempts to target the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina and continued attacks on civilian and economic facilities.

Safadi also reaffirmed Jordan’s support for Yemen’s internationally recognised government and efforts to resolve the conflict “in a way that restores security and stability and preserves the country’s unity and sovereignty,” the ministry said.

The two ministers also discussed regional developments and efforts to end the ongoing escalation in the region.

Separately, GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi strongly condemned the attacks targeting King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jazan and Najran International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia.

Albudaiwi said attacks on Houthi airports and civilian facilities represented a “dangerous escalation” and posed a “direct threat” to civilians and air navigation.

He expressed the GCC states’ full support for Saudi Arabia and measures taken by the kingdom to protect its security, stability and territory.

Saudi-led coalition says it destroyed depot housing 20 ballistic missiles in northwestern Yemen

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said early on Tuesday that its forces destroyed a depot housing 20 ballistic missiles at a mountainous site in northwestern Saada province along with a ballistic missile launch site in the capital Sanaa.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki announced the strikes in remarks carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

On Monday, the coalition said it carried out a military operation against Houthi targets in Yemen’s western Hodeidah province on the Red Sea coast.

Al-Maliki said the operation destroyed weapons depots, storage sites for explosive-laden boats and naval mines.

Read: Houthis pushed back from Bab el-Mandeb

He also said that coalition forces thwarted preparations for imminent attacks targeting waterways in the southern Red Sea.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.

A 2022 UN-brokered truce collapsed in July, and fighting has since escalated.

Houthis claim attacks on Saudi airports, state oil refinery, military sites

Yemen’s Houthi group claimed Monday evening that it had carried out three military operations targeting two airports, an oil facility and military sites across Saudi Arabia.

In a statement on the US social media platform X, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the operations involved a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones.

Saree said the first operation targeted King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh, claiming it hit its target and disrupted air traffic.

The second targeted a refinery of state oil company Aramco in Rabigh, in the Makkah region, he said, claiming the attack caused a fire at the facility.

According to the statement, the third operation targeted Abha Airport, the Khamis Mushait base, and Akfa camp in the southern Asir region, along with what Saree described as other “sensitive sites” in Najran and Jazan in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Saree claimed the operations were in response to 60 Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks over the preceding 24 hours targeting Sanaa and the Yemeni provinces of Al-Jawf, Taiz, Hajjah, Saada, and Marib.

He put the total number of airstrikes and missile attacks since the escalation began at 1,576.

Saree also warned international airlines using Saudi airspace against continuing their flights, saying it was now within the group’s area of operations, except for the airspace over Makkah and Medina.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities on the Houthi claims

US Navy helicopter declares emergency over Red Sea near Saudi Arabia

A US Navy helicopter declared an emergency while flying over the Red Sea near Saudi Arabia on Monday before disappearing from publicly available flight-tracking data.

The Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk, operating under the call sign VVHR512, declared an emergency at approximately 5:20pm ET (2:20am PKT on Tuesday) while flying near Yanbu, a city on Saudi Arabia’s western coast.

The helicopter was shown at an altitude of roughly 475 feet when the emergency was declared. Its displayed altitude subsequently dropped to zero before the aircraft disappeared from the tracking service.

The US Navy had not publicly confirmed the incident or provided information about the helicopter’s crew or condition as of Monday evening.

The reason for the emergency was also not immediately known.

Some reports circulating on social media suggested the helicopter may have crashed, but there was no official confirmation of a crash.