Disregarding international criticism, the Houthi terror group in Yemen is stepping up its attacks against civilian marks in neighboring Saudi Arabia. The Iran-backed militia has targeted the Abha International Airport twice within a week.
Houthis are claiming that the airfield, which serves as a key entry point to the kingdom’s southern territories, is a valid military target.
Abha airport was struck by two separate attacks staged by the Yemeni coupist militia. In one of the assaults, a Houthi drone attack left a civilian aircraft ablaze.
Saudi air defenses intercepted the other attack.
Houthis have attempted hitting the airport at least 12 times since 2018. Most attacks featured missile launches, rockets, and drones and were tempered according to geopolitical changes in the region.
In the first 45 days of 2021, Houthis tried to strike the civilian airport four times.
Located around 300km from the border with Yemen, the airfield is heavily used by Saudis enjoying the milder climate of the mountains around Abha.
Official statistics show that in 2019, the airfield received more than one and a half million passengers every three months. It served more than 10,000 domestic flights and over 1,100 international flights.
Houthis, since they launched a nationwide coup in Yemen in 2015, have actively sought to threaten the security of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi-led Arab Coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki said the coalition thwarted over 345 Houthi ballistic missiles and 515 drone attacks and destroyed 62 booby-trapped vessels and 204 naval mines.
The Iran-backed Houthi militia is deliberately targeting economic and civilian areas in Saudi Arabia, including airports in Jazan, Abha, and Riyadh.
More so, it has waged serious attacks on global energy supply lines and attempted to target energy sites inside the Kingdom.
This comes at a time Washington is trying to reboot peace talks in Yemen.
US President Joe Biden, however, confirmed that his administration will continue to support and help Saudi Arabia defend its sovereignty and its territorial integrity and its people from missile attacks, [unmanned aerial vehicle] strikes, and other threats from Iranian-supplied force.
