The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen announced on Friday that a bomb-laden drone launched by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia struck King Abdullah Airport in Jazan. The coalition later revealed the destruction of a second bomb-laden drone that attempted to target civilians at the airport.
Spokesman for the coalition forces, Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki, stated that on Friday evening, a bomb-laden drone fell on King Abdullah Airport in Jazan, where thousands of civilians, including citizens and residents of various nationalities, pass through. Al-Maliki mentioned that the attempted hostile attack resulted in 10 injuries among civilian travelers and airport workers, broken down as follows: 6 cases of Saudi nationals (travelers and airport staff), 3 cases of Bangladeshi airport workers, and 1 case of a Sudanese airport employee.
The attack also caused minor material damage and shattered glass in some airport facades, according to the spokesperson. Brigadier General Al-Maliki added that "the terrorist Houthi militia continues its immoral practices of attempting to target civilians and civilian objects," stating that targeting a civilian airport could escalate to a war crime due to the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects, which are specifically protected under international humanitarian law and its customary rules.
Al-Maliki affirmed that "the leadership of the Joint Forces of the coalition, in the face of these hostile acts and unethical violations by the Houthi militia, continues to implement operational measures to neutralize sources of threat in self-defense and imminent attack situations to ensure the protection of civilian objects and civilians, in accordance with international humanitarian law and its customary rules."
In a subsequent live broadcast from inside King Abdullah Airport, Al Arabiya reporter Hassan Al-Talayi confirmed that normal operations resumed after a 30-minute halt to air traffic. He noted that the material damage from the hostile attempt was quite minimal and did not affect normal operations at the airport.
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On Wednesday, the coalition announced the execution of an operation targeting a site for assembling and rigging boats in the province of Hodeidah, confirming the destruction of 3 bomb-laden boats prepared for imminent attacks.
Last Saturday, Saudi defenses intercepted and destroyed a bomb-laden drone launched by the Houthi militia towards Khamis Mushait. The previous Friday, Saudi forces shot down another drone targeting Jazan.
The Yemeni government condemned the Houthi militia's attack on King Abdullah Airport in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, calling it "an extension of their systematic and deliberate targeting of civilian objects, undermining calls and efforts for calm," through tweets by Yemeni Minister of Information, Muammar Al-Eryani.
Al-Eryani expressed surprise at "the international community's silence regarding the crimes and violations of the Houthis, and the failure to categorize them and their leaders on international terrorism lists." He asserted that "the Houthi militia's attempts to inflict the greatest number of civilian casualties from various nationalities confirm their bloodthirstiness and criminality," describing the Houthi militia as "a terrorist organization no different from Al-Qaeda and ISIS."
