Screen grab from the Houthis’ attack footage.
On February 10, at least 12 people were wounded when a suicide drone launched by the Houthis (Ansar Allah) from Yemen hit Abha International Airport in the southern Saudi province of ‘Asir.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Sari, a spokesman for the Houthis, said that the drone, a Qasef-2K, hit an “important military target” in the airport. The spokesman called on civilians in Saudi Arabia to stay away from military positions.
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The Saudi-led coalition claimed that the Houthi drone was intercepted, without clarifying how 12 people were wounded in Abha International Airport. In a statement, the coalition said that it will be taking “strict operatives measures” to end the Houthis’ threats to airports in Saudi Arabia.
“The Houthi militia’s deliberate attacks on civilian airports represent a threat that cannot be ignored and requires deterrence … Critical positions in [the Yemeni capital] Sanaa that the Houthis use to launch drones will be bombed,” the coalition’s statement reads.
The coalition went on to call on civilians in Sanaa to move away from civilian positions being used by the Houthis for the next 72 hours.
The attack on Abha International Airport was likely an attempt by the Houthis to deter the Saudi-led coalition and its proxies who recently escalated their ground operations in central and northwestern Yemen.
Any harsh response by the Saudi-led coalition to the attack on the Abha International Airport will likely provoke the Houthis even further.
