Houthi attack in Saudi Arabia's Jazan airport injures 10; second in a week

In a second attack within a week, at least 10 civilians were injured in an explosive-laden drone explosion at King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in the southwestern border city of Jazan in Saudi Arabia. The hostile projectile was target-fired by the Saudi-led coalition Houthi rebels from Yemen late on Friday, Xinhua reported citing Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Initial reports suggested about 5 minor injuries from the falling debris of the shot-down missile, however, the state media later updated the toll to 10.

The official spokesperson of the Saudi-led coalition Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki, later on Friday, informed that among the injured were civilian passengers, including six Saudis, three Bangladeshi nationals, and one from Sudan, and airport workers. The intensity of the explosion shattered glass windows at the airport and caused minor injuries. The attack comes after the Houthis launched another similar Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) towards Abha International Airport in the Kingdom's southwestern Asir Province on Wednesday. The strike reportedly injured at least four airport employees.

Yemen-Houthi Conflict

The Yemen-Houthi Conflict began in September 2014, when the Iran-backed militia seized the capital city of Sanaa. The rebel group toppled President Abed Rabbi Mansour Hadi's government and formed the Supreme Political Council along with its allied forces supported by the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Following the annexure, Yemen's recognised government backed by Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) engaged in war with the rebel group since March 2015. The battle forced the last President Hadi to flee the country to Saudi Arabia.

In January 2021, former US State Secretary Mike Pompeo proposed to declare the Houthis as a "Foreign terrorist organisation." However, the Biden administration after a month in the White House withdrew arms backing to UAE and Saudi Arabia and called for a ceasefire. The State Department also said that it would revoke Houthi's "terrorist group tag."

A series of strikes and counterstrikes since 2015, has killed thousands of civilians and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine and humanitarian crisis. The shaky cease-fire to end Yemen's civil war has been under the debris of truce breaches and sporadic military escalation by both sides.

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