Houthis Say They Struck Saudi Airport in Retaliation for Sanaa Strike

Yemen's rebel movement claims attack on Abha airport as regional airstrikes continue to trade blows

Yemen's Houthi movement said it struck Saudi Arabia's Abha airport in retaliation for a strike on the international airport in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital the group controls, Al Jazeera reported.

The claimed attack adds another flashpoint to a region already on edge amid the intensifying confrontation between the United States and Iran, with which the Houthis are aligned. Saudi Arabia has previously come under fire from Houthi missiles and drones during years of conflict tied to the war in Yemen.

Al Jazeera's report did not detail casualties or the extent of damage from the strike on Abha airport, which has been targeted by the Houthis in the past. The exchange underscores how the wider standoff between Washington and Tehran risks drawing in other regional actors and reigniting hostilities that had periodically calmed in recent months.

The tit-for-tat strikes on the two airports reflect the fragile state of security across the Arabian Peninsula, where Gulf states have been on alert as U.S.-Iran tensions escalate and shipping through nearby waterways faces new risks.

— Compiled from reporting by Al Jazeera.