SANAA: Yemen’s rebels say they have launched drone attacks targeting two Saudi Arabian airports.

The Houthis’ Al-Masirah satellite news channel on Saturday said the rebels, known as Houthis, attacked Saudi airports in Abha and Jizan with Qasef-2K drones.

Yahia Sarie, spokesman for the Iran-aligned Houthi forces, said the attacks resulted in the suspension of air traffic in both airports.

Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s neighbour to the north, did not immediately comment on the Houthi claim and a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen did not answer calls seeking comment.

The Houthis have increasingly used drones to target southern Saudi Arabia, including two recent strikes on the Abha airport, which killed one person and wounded over 30.

The Saudi-led coalition’s air strikes have been internationally criticized for killing civilians.Impoverished Yemen has been mired in a devastating conflict since Iran-backed rebels seized the capital Sanaa five years ago. The war escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened in support of the embattled government, although Sanaa remains in rebel control.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2019