Shrapnel injures 12 at Saudi Abha airport as drone intercepts – Times of India

DUBAI: Twelve people were injured by shrapnel from an explosive-laden drone intercepted by air defenses at Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport on Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group said.
In a statement carried by Al Arabiya TV, the coalition later warned people in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa to avoid civilian spaces used for military purposes during the next 72 hours while they were at drone launch sites. attack.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sara said the group struck a military target at Abha airport with a Qasef 2 drone.
The coalition said in statements carried by state media that air traffic operations at Abha Civil Airport returned to normal following standard security procedures following drone interception.
It said shrapnel fell inside the airport grounds in the afternoon and parts of the glass were damaged by the drone strike.
Two Saudi nationals and citizens of Bangladesh, Nepal, India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka suffered minor injuries.
The coalition has been fighting the Houthis since early 2015, after Yemen’s internationally recognized government was ousted from power in the capital, Sanaa.
The Houthis frequently attack Abha airport, which is located south of Saudi Arabia close to the Yemeni border, and attack other parts of the country with drones and missiles. Most of the attacks have been stopped but some people have been killed and many have been injured.
The coalition regularly conducts air strikes on Houthi military bases in Yemen. On Thursday it said it would take measures to neutralize the source of threats to civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law.
The United Arab Emirates, a coalition member, said twice in January that its forces destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile launch area in Yemen, claimed by the Houthis, following unprecedented drone and missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates this year.