Yemeni Houthis report attacking Abha Airport in Saudi Arabia

DOHA, July 13. /TASS/. The Houthis from Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement say they have struck Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport with ballistic missiles and drones.

"In response to <…> Saudi Arabia’s aggression, the Yemeni armed forces (the Houthis - TASS) conducted a military operation and struck Abha International Airport with the use of ballistic missiles and drones," the Houthi armed forces said in a statement.

According to the Houthis, the attack was conducted in response to Saudi Arabia’s strike on Sanaa Airport, claimed to be geared to "close it for humanitarian flights."

The Yemeni defense ministry said earlier that a strike had been delivered on the Sanaa Airport’s runway to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. According to the ministry, the Houthis from the rebel Ansar Allah movement had banned Yemen’s national aviation from using the capital city’s airport but allowed an Iranian aircraft to "intrude into the Yemeni territory." The rebels blamed Saudi Arabia for the attacks on the Sanaa airport. The Houthi foreign ministry said it considered the attack a declaration of war and announced that the de-escalation period had effectively ended. The Riyadh-led coalition, in turn, reported intercepting ballistic missiles over the kingdom’s eastern part.