Saudi minister vows 'serious response' to Houthi attacks on airports

What the report says

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister has said the kingdom will respond firmly to a wave of Houthi attacks on airports and energy-related sites, according to the BBC. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman told an energy conference in Riyadh that recent events were serious and required an equally serious answer.

The immediate trigger was a pair of strikes on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport. Saudi authorities said a Pakistani man was killed on Sunday in an attack on a terminal, a day after a Houthi missile hit another terminal and killed 13 people. The BBC reported that the attacks forced the closure of part of the airport and marked a major escalation in the conflict.

The Houthis, an armed movement backed by Iran and based in Yemen, said the strikes were retaliation for what they called Saudi aggression against areas they control in western Yemen. The group also said a Saudi air strike on a home in Sanaa killed a child and injured six people, while a Saudi-led coalition continues air support for pro-government forces in Yemen.

The wider backdrop is Yemen’s long-running civil war, which has drawn in Saudi Arabia since 2015. Recent months have seen intensified Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers, adding to regional tension and concerns over security in the Red Sea area.