Yemeni drones target airport installations south of Saudi Arabia

The Houthi-run al-Masirah TV said in a Saturday report that the “large-scale and measured” drone operations had successfully targeted airports in Jizan and Abha regions.

It cited a spokesman of the Yemeni armed forces as saying that the installations targeted in the operation by Qasif K2 drones were now out of service. It said the control rooms in Jizan airport and the fuel station in Abha airport were the main target of the attacks.

The spokesman said the attacks were in retaliation for Saudi “aggression” against Yemen, saying such attacks will intensify in size and number if Riyadh continued with its bombardment and blockade of the impoverished Yemenis.

Al-Masirah said air traffic monitoring centers at Jizan and Abha airports had confirmed the Saturday attacks.

However, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV said that a ballistic missile targeting the city of Abha, located to the southwest of Saudi Arabia, had been intercepted.

Yemeni retaliation expected after Saudi jets bomb Sana’aSaudi Arabia launches airstrikes against Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, and the northwestern province of Hajjah after the Houthis called for “serious talks” to reach a peace agreement.

The Houthis have intensified their so-called retaliatory attacks on military positions in southern Saudi territories over the past few days. The main targets in those attacks have been installations in Jizan, Najran, Abha and Khamis Mushait.

In a major attack last month, Yemeni drones managed to hit key oil installations in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The attacks come as Saudi Arabia continues to target crowded civilian locations across Yemen heedless of international criticism.

The Saturday attacks came a day after Saudis bombarded areas in Yemen’s capital Sana’a and in the northwestern province of Hajjah.

Tens of thousands of Yemeni people have been killed since Riyadh started the war on its southern neighbor in March 2015.