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Yemen's Houthis say targeted Abha airport, warn airlines against using Saudi airspace
The airport in Saudi Arabia was reportedly attacked with ballistic missiles
- PUBLISHED: Mon 13 Jul 2026, 11:03 PM UPDATED: Mon 13 Jul 2026, 11:46 PM
- By:
- AFP
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis targeted Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia on Monday, hours after airstrikes on Sanaa airport — the biggest flare-up in years between the two sides that threatens to upend a frozen conflict.
The Yemeni government claimed responsibility for the attack on Sanaa airport, saying it wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.
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It came after they failed to convince a Houthi delegation that went to Tehran for the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei's funeral to board a flight on domestic carrier Yemenia instead.
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"The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting Abha International Airport, using a number of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement.
Saudi Arabia said air defences had "dealt with" the Houthi missiles.
The latest escalation threatens to unravel a truce that has been holding since 2022 despite expiring, and comes at a time of heightened tensions as the United States and Iran trade attacks impacting the Gulf and traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran condemned the attack on Sanaa airport, with a foreign ministry spokesperson describing it "as a clear violation of international law".
But following the strikes on Sanaa, the head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, said he had "ordered that the scope of the confrontation not be expanded".
Saree in his statement warned airlines against flying into Saudi airspace "until the blockade on Sanaa International Airport is lifted".
Tensions had been rising for days, after the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia earlier this month of attacking an Iranian plane that landed in Sanaa and took off carrying the delegation.
The rebels had threatened at the time to hit Saudi airports and vital assets should Riyadh violate its airspace or attempt to attack it.
The latest strikes raised the spectre of renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia after years of relative calm between the two foes — as well as fears of broader conflict in Yemen.
Earlier in the day, the Yemeni government accused the rebels of preventing an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) aircraft from leaving Sanaa airport and holding the pilot and co-pilot "hostage".
"All ICRC staff and the crew of the plane are safe and accounted for," ICRC spokesman for the Middle East Hachem Osseiran told AFP.
The Houthis have been at war with Yemen's government since 2014, in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a major humanitarian crisis.
The rebels control Yemen's capital Sanaa and much of the north, including most population centres, while the internationally recognised government holds much of the south.