Houthis attack Saudi airport by firing missile

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Jan 30 (ANI): Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Tuesday allegedly fired a long-range ballistic missile towards Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, according to Houthi-controlled Saba news agency.

It is the second time a missile has been fired by the Houthis on the Riyadh airport.

In November last year, Saudi air defence forces blocked and shot down a missile fired by the rebels at the airport, as per media reports.

The missile attack comes a few days after Saudi-led coalition forces had intercepted a Houthi missile fired from Yemen, in Najran province, on January 20.

Continued missile attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen have forced Saudi Arabia to cut off air, sea and land links from its neighbour. The defence forces have also halted Yemen's financial aids and food and fuel imports as well.

On December 4, former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh was killed in Sanaa after days of intense fighting between Houthi rebels and his loyalist forces. Before killing Saleh, Houthi rebels had reportedly blown up his residence.

Both Saleh forces and the Houthi rebels are battling to capture the capital city. The loyalists of Saleh last week had proposed for the talks with the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis to end the three-year conflict in Yemen.

The conflict in Yemen, which began in 2014, has claimed more than 100,000 lives so far. Saleh was overthrown in the ensuing conflict and had reportedly fled to Saudi Arabia for a while.

The fighting further intensified in 2015, when clashes broke out between Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi's government forces and Saleh loyalist forces.

The Saudi-led coalition forces, which is backed by the United States, has interfered in the conflict upon Hadi's request since then, and are carrying out regular airstrikes against the Houthi rebels. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI