Huthi rebels claimed to have bombed a weapons depot at an airport in Saudi Arabia. Nothing has been known about injuries. The attack increases the tensions in the region.
Houthi rebels reportedly used a drone to attack an airport in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia confirmed the attack. At the airport there is also a military base with a weapons depot.
The drone attack was a weapons storage at the airport, said the Houthis. He met his goal „with high accuracy“. There a fire broke out.
The drone was loaded with explosives and directed to a „vital facility,“ said the spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition, according to news channel Al-Arabija. He did not give any information about possible damages or victims.
Large parts of civilized Yemen – including the capital Sanaa – are under the control of the Houthi. The coalition led by Saudi Arabia in turn supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government. The Alliance regularly flies attacks on the rebels in Yemen.
Attack should apply to the city of Najan
The Saudi state news agency said that the Houthis had „tried“ to meet the southwestern Saudi city of Najran, citing the spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition.
Najran is located 840 kilometers southwest of the city of Riyad near the Yemeni border and has been attacked by Iranian-allied Houthis in the past.
Coalition warns against deterrent measures
The spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition announced „strong“ deterrents. He described the Houthis as „terrorist militias of Iran.“ Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran are deeply hostile.
In the past, the coalition ruled for such attacks with air strikes on Yemen. These attacks met with international criticism because even bystanders were killed.
Conflict between US and Iran is further aggravated
The situation in the region is tense due to the conflict between the Saudi-American allied US and hostile Iran. The US imposed sanctions designed to drain Iran’s oil revenues.
The Houthi attack was not the first on Saudi targets since the saber rattling between Tehran and Washington. The US had massively strengthened its military presence in the Persian Gulf. Washington also warned that Tehran would also be held responsible for attacks by its Shiite allies, for example in Iraq.
Tehran, in response to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, has given European signatories a deadline of July 7 to put a stop to the tough US sanctions on its oil industry and banking sector. Thereafter, it will no longer comply with parts of the agreement, including uranium enrichment limits.
