Houthi attacks: What we know about strikes on Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Aden airport

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility on Wednesday for strikes on airports and military installations in neighbouring Saudi Arabia. The escalation deepens the latest front in the Iran war, threatening a key shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.The Houthis’ military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, stated on social media that ballistic missiles and drones targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, though no evidence was offered.Flight tracking platform Flightradar24 reported brief disruptions to flights at the airport. Saree added that Abha airport was targeted alongside an air base in Khamis Mushait and military sites in Najran and Asir, all located in southwestern Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen.The spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said they intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile north of Riyadh.Houthi supporters chant slogans while riding in the back of a pickup truck at an armed tribal rally in Sanaa, Yemen. (AP)Saudi Arabia and allied Yemeni forces in recent days have launched a major ground and air offensive against the Houthis in an attempt to retake territory that the rebels seized about a month ago along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast and on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Those positions gave the rebels better surveillance of shipping as they pursue a blockade of Saudi vessels.On Monday, officials said forces of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen recaptured several key areas around the strait.The fighting has since then centered in and around the crucial town of Dhubab, some 54 kilometers (33.5 miles) south of the port city of Mokha, according to both the Houthis and the Yemeni government.Clashes were also reported in the district of Waziayah in southwestern Taiz province, which links Yemen’s mountainous highlands to the Red Sea, and overlooks roads to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.Houthis target the airport in Aden with missilesThe Houthis also said they launched a missile strike early Wednesday against Yemen’s port city of Aden, the seat of the internationally recognized government. An Associated Press journalist heard explosions around 2 a.m.The rebels hit a military camp close to the Aden airport with ballistic missiles, Saree said.Security authorities in Aden said the Houthis targeted the airport with two missiles, with no casualties. The airport is close to the seat of government.An aerial view shows the Al-Salam camp, which shelters displaced Yemenis. (Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)“The targeting of this vital civilian facility represents a direct threat to the safety of civilians, passengers, employees and flight crews,” the Aden police said in a statement.The attack on the Aden airport threatened “a humanitarian disaster,” as one missile hit close to the runway just before the scheduled landing of a flight from Cairo, the Human Rights Ministry said. Flight 603, operated by Yemen’s flagship airline, landed safely in Aden at 3:30 a.m., according to flight tracking platform FlightAware.The ministry said the missile hit as other passengers were waiting to board their flight to the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.“The Houthis believe that they can maximize Saudi economic costs and compel Saudi Arabia to surrender to Houthi demands by striking civilian infrastructure, such as oil facilities and airports,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, wrote in an analysis.