The Yemeni terror group said it was responding to an attack on Sanaa Airport, which it blamed on Saudi Arabia.
Houthi terrorists in Yemen said they fired missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport on July 13, in response to airstrikes that struck Sanaa International Airport earlier that day, which the Iran-backed group blamed on Riyadh.
Yemen’s defense minister said the country’s armed forces had struck the runway at Sanaa International Airport earlier that day to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing. No casualties were reported in the attacks, but they marked an escalation not seen since a Saudi-led coalition struck Houthi-controlled areas several years ago. Those areas were targeted by the coalition before a U.N.-brokered truce to cease hostilities came into effect in 2022.
The terrorist group released a statement on Monday via the Houthi-controlled SABA News Agency, saying that “the enemy Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, insisting on continuing its unjust blockade against the Yemeni people, launched a blatant aggression today, Monday, at 1:54 p.m., carried out by its military aircraft against Sana‘a International Airport, targeting it with a number of airstrikes with the aim of closing it to humanitarian flights carrying patients and stranded persons to and from Sana’a International Airport.”
The group said it “carried out a military operation targeting Abha International Airport, using a number of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles,” adding that the operation had “successfully achieved its objectives.”
It further warned “all airlines against overflying the airspace of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and stressed that “these warnings should be taken seriously until the blockade on Sana’a International Airport is lifted.”
Yemen’s defense minister, Gen. Taher al-Aqili, said in a July 13 post on X that the Sanaa Airport’s runway had been struck in response to an Iranian plane transporting a Houthi delegation in violation of Yemen’s airspace.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces targeted the runway at Sanaa International Airport to prevent the Iranian aircraft from landing on Yemeni territory,” al-Aqili said.
“The terrorist Houthi militia, backed by the Iranian regime, prevented Yemen’s national airline from landing at the airport in the capital, Sanaa, while insisting that the Iranian aircraft violate the territory of the Republic of Yemen. Therefore, the airport runway was targeted.”
Saudi Arabia has not so far publicly commented on the terror group’s claims. The Epoch Times contacted the Saudi Foreign Ministry but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
The official spokesperson of the Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said in a July 13 post on X that air defenses dealt with ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward the southern region without providing further details.
By Guy Birchall
