The country’s airspace is now “a theater for military operations,” the Yemeni militants have warned
Yemen’s Houthi forces have reportedly struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with missiles for the second time in a day, hours after issuing a “final warning” to airlines against operating in Saudi airspace.
The Houthis hit the airport with two cruise missiles on Thursday evening, the group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree announced in a statement. Houthi forces also hit Abha Airport and King Khalid Air Base with ballistic missiles, Saree added.
“The strikes were precise and direct, resulting in the disruption of air traffic at the two airports and causing damage to them and the air base,” Saree said. The Saudi government has not acknowledged the strikes. The head of the Saudi military coalition against the Houthis in Yemen, Turki al-Maliki, has claimed that two missiles were intercepted before they reached Riyadh, and one was intercepted before it reached King Khalid Air Base.
Earlier on Thursday, Houthi forces hit King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile, which Saree said “struck its target with precision and caused the disruption of airport operations.”
Video footage shared by the Houthis showed a thick plume of smoke rising from the apron of the airport, while footage shared on social media suggested that the missile landed directly on a parked aircraft belonging to the Saudia airline.
After the first strike, Saree issued what he called a “final warning to all global airlines,” warning them to stay out of Saudi airspace, “which has become a theater for our military operations.”
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