BFF-04 Saudi intercepts five Yemen rebel drones in new airport attack: coalition

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ZCZC

BFF-04

SAUDI-CONFLICT-YEMEN

Saudi intercepts five Yemen rebel drones in new airport attack: coalition

RIYADH, June 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Saudi forces on Friday intercepted five
Yemeni rebel drones in the second aerial attack on an airport in the
kingdom’s southwest in two days, a Riyadh-led military coalition fighting the
rebels said.

The drones targeted Abha airport, where a rebel missile on Wednesday left
26 civilians wounded, and the nearby city of Khamis Mushait, which houses a
major airbase, the coalition said in a statement released by Saudi state
media.

“The royal Saudi air defence force and air force successfully intercepted
and destroyed five unmanned drone aircraft launched by Huthi militia towards
Abha international airport and Khamis Mushait,” the statement said.

The airport was operating normally with no fights disrupted, the statement
added.

Huthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported earlier that the Iran-aligned rebels had
carried out drone attacks on Abha Airport.

The rebels, who have faced persistent coalition bombing since March 2015
that has exacted a heavy civilian death toll, have stepped up missile and
drone attacks across the border in recent weeks.

Wednesday’s missile strike hit the civil airport in the mountain resort of
Abha, which is a popular summer getaway for Saudis seeking escape from the
searing heat of Riyadh or Jeddah.

During a media tour of the airport on Thursday, Saudi authorities said they
had closed a part of the its arrival lounge after the missile tore a hole in
the roof and disrupted flights for several hours.

The area was covered in bamboo scaffolding and littered with concrete
debris and shards of broken glass, AFP saw.

Two passengers who suffered mild injuries recalled pandemonium and screams
after a loud explosion triggered a blaze, leaving the lounge covered in
smoke.

A Saudi civil aviation official said authorities were still investigating
rebel claims that they fired a cruise missile at the airport.

If confirmed that would represent a major leap in the rebels’ military
capability, experts say.

The coalition intervened in support of the Yemeni government in 2015 when
President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled into Saudi exile as the rebels closed
in on his last remaining territory in and around second city Aden.

Since then, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, many of
them civilians, relief agencies say.

It has triggered what the UN describes as the world’s worst humanitarian
crisis, with 24.1 million Yemenis — more than two-thirds of the population –
– in need of aid.

BSS/AFP/GMR/0830 hrs