Saudi Arabia’s Saudi-led military coalition has accused Yemen’s Houthi rebels of carrying out 20 attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport between October 1 and 11, claiming the strikes killed 17 people and injured 333 others.
Coalition spokesman, Major General Turki al-Maliki, disclosed this on Thursday during a news conference in Riyadh, saying the attacks involved 10 drones, four ballistic missiles, four cruise missiles and two unidentified projectiles.
Al-Maliki said the attacks occurred on several days in October and targeted the civilian airport, which he noted is protected under international humanitarian law.
According to the spokesman, an attack on October 7 killed one person and injured eight, while strikes on October 8 left three people dead and five wounded.
He said the October 10 attacks resulted in 12 deaths and 309 injuries. A further strike on Terminal 3 on October 11 killed one person and injured 11 others, bringing the reported toll at the airport to 17 dead and 333 injured.
“The Houthi terrorist militias have worked to acquire advanced technologies with the help of regional parties,” al-Maliki said, accusing the group of developing capabilities that include ballistic missiles, attack drones, suicide drones and fast boats.
The coalition spokesman further alleged that the Houthis had attempted to target several airports, oil facilities and ports across Saudi Arabia.
He said coalition forces had destroyed ballistic missile storage sites in mountainous areas around Sanaa, Yemen’s capital, which is controlled by the Houthis. He also claimed that 127 Houthi warehouses in mountainous areas and numerous launch platforms had been destroyed.
Al-Maliki reported additional attacks on other Saudi airports. He said a strike on Abha International Airport on October 7 killed two people, a Moroccan and an Algerian national, and injured 28 others.
An attack on King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jazan on October 5 reportedly injured three people.
The spokesman added that attacks on Najran airport on October 6 and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on October 10 and 11 caused no reported casualties.
The allegations come amid renewed Houthi claims of attacks against Saudi airports and energy facilities. The casualty figures and details cited in the report were provided by the Saudi-led coalition.
