Houthis strike Saudi airports a third day; three killed, 36 hurt
Yemen's Houthis said they fired missiles at Riyadh's main airport and other Saudi sites on Thursday, a third straight day of attacks. The strikes put civilian air travel in the Gulf at risk, and the U.S. mission in Saudi Arabia warned Americans to stay alert. Saudi officials say attacks on two airports earlier this week killed three people and wounded 36.
The Houthis have turned their missiles on Saudi Arabia's airports, and they say they will keep going.
On Thursday, the Iran-backed group said it fired cruise and ballistic missiles at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Najran Airport near the Yemen border, and the King Khalid Air Base, CNN reported. It was the third day in a row of attacks. Images verified by CNN showed smoke over the Riyadh airport's Terminal 4 and what looked like a damaged Saudi plane.
Saudi Arabia said it shot down two ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh. Falling debris hit a kindergarten and a medical clinic, CNN reported.
The earlier attacks were deadly. Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said strikes on Abha and Riyadh airports on Tuesday and Wednesday killed three people and wounded 36, AFP reported. An Egyptian and an Algerian were killed at Abha. A Sudanese man was killed in Riyadh.
The U.S. mission in Saudi Arabia warned Americans to be on alert and to expect flight cancellations and airspace closures, CNN reported. U.S. government workers now need special permission to use the Riyadh airport.
The Houthi leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, warned Saudi Arabia to prepare for a long fight. "The Yemeni people today possess all the determination and elements of strength, regardless of how long the war lasts," he said in a televised speech. The group also told airlines, for what it called the last time, to avoid Saudi airspace, AFP reported.
The Saudi-led coalition vowed the attacks "will not go unpunished." It said it struck 82 Houthi military targets in response.
How this fits: The Houthis control Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and have fought the Saudi-backed government since 2015. Yemen's civil war flared again in July. More than 200,000 people have been displaced since then, the United Nations said, according to AFP. The government launched a major counteroffensive this week along the Red Sea coast.
What we know: Three people have died in airport attacks, and the Houthis keep firing at Saudi targets.
What we don't: How badly the Riyadh airport was damaged, and when normal flights will resume.
Where outlets agree CNN and AFP both report that Houthi attacks on Saudi airports killed three people and wounded 36.
Where they differ AFP reports the two people killed at Abha airport were Egyptian and Algerian, while the BBC reports they were Moroccan and Algerian women.