Iran-aligned Houthi forces attacked Aden International Airport with ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones early on Wednesday, Yemen’s Transport Ministry said, as fighting intensified across several fronts in the country and the Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting a Houthi ballistic missile north of Riyadh.
One missile landed near the airport runway only minutes before a flight from Cairo was scheduled to arrive, according to the ministry. Authorities cancelled the landing and diverted the aircraft to Jeddah, while two other aircraft on the runway were moved away from the area because of fears of further strikes.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on the reported attack.
Aden International Airport is the principal international gateway for areas of Yemen outside Houthi control, making the strike a direct threat to one of the country’s key transport links.
The Saudi-led coalition, which supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government, separately said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile north of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The coalition said it was tracking the missile’s launch platform in Houthi-controlled Sanaa and would destroy it, but provided no information on casualties or damage.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with several drones. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm an attack on the airport.
The competing accounts came as the conflict entered a more active phase following a Saudi-backed government counteroffensive against the Houthis, who have recently made territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast.
Yemeni government forces, supported by Saudi-led coalition air power, launched a rapid offensive this week to retake territory around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea port city of Mocha. The operation has pushed Houthi forces out of areas they seized last month.
The Bab el-Mandeb is a critical maritime passage linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, giving the fighting along Yemen’s western coastline significance beyond the immediate territorial contest.
The Houthi attacks have also extended the conflict’s geographic reach, with Saudi Arabia reporting multiple attempted missile strikes against targets inside its territory.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile launched towards the southwestern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, according to Saudi state television.
In a separate statement, Saree said the Houthis had attacked Abha International Airport and an airbase in Khamis Mushait using ballistic missiles and drones. It was not immediately clear whether the reported Houthi operation was connected to the missile that Saudi forces said they had intercepted near Khamis Mushait.
Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm an attack on Abha airport.
The latest exchanges followed a week in which Saudi-backed government forces have attempted to reverse Houthi advances along the Red Sea coast. The government offensive has focused on areas around Mocha and the Bab el-Mandeb, where control of the coastline carries strategic importance for Yemen’s divided authorities and their regional backers.
The Houthis, who control Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, have responded with attacks involving ballistic missiles and drones, including strikes or claimed strikes against airports and military targets in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
The reported attack on Aden illustrates the risks to civilian aviation as the fighting expands. The missile’s landing near the runway forced authorities to alter an international flight’s route and move aircraft already on the ground, while the simultaneous reports of attempted attacks in Saudi Arabia demonstrated the widening scope of the confrontation.
The immediate extent of casualties and damage from the latest strikes remained unclear. The competing claims over several targets, including Abha and King Khalid airports, had not been independently confirmed by Saudi authorities at the time of the reports.
