Saudi Aggressors Admit Airport Hit by Yemeni Missile

TEHRAN (IQNA) – The Saudi-led coalition confirmed Wednesday an attack by Yemeni forces on an airport in southern Saudi Arabia.

Col. Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the coalition, was quoted in a statement released by Saudi Press Agency (SPA) as saying: "A hostile projectile fell early on Wednesday at the arrival hall of the Abha airport, through which thousands of civilian passengers pass every day."

Describing the attack as a "terrorist act", Al-Maliki added at least 26 individuals from various nationalities were injured in the attack, Anadolu Agency reported.

Earlier on Wednesday, Yemeni forces said they had targeted the Abha airport by a cruise missile and that the missile "hit the target accurately."

Al-Masirah TV, citing an unknown military source, said the airport had been hit with a cruise missile and that air traffic had been halted around the airport.

Before the retaliatory attack, the spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces called on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to put an immediate end to their military aggression against Yemen, or embrace for major surprises.

Speaking during a press conference in the capital Sana’a on Tuesday, Brigadier General Yahya Saree said Yemeni army forces, backed by allied fighters from Popular Committees, launched an airstrike against King Khalid Air Base, which lies near the southwestern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait and more than 884 kilometers (549 miles) from the capital Riyadh, the previous evening, using a squadron of domestically-manufactured Qasef-2K (Striker-2K) combat drones.

He went on to say that the attack targeted advanced radars, arms depots and control rooms in the base. Saree highlighted that King Khalid Air Base serves as one of the main bases of the Saudi-led coalition, from which many atrocious attacks are being launched against Yemeni people.

Yemen’s defenseless people have been under massive attacks by the Saudi-led coalition for more than four years.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.