Saudi attacked again

Agencies | Riyadh

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Arab coalition yesterday thwarted yet another attempt by Houthis to attack the Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia.

Coalition forces intercepted an improvised explosive device (IED) moving towards the airport, Colonel Turki al-Maliki, the coalition spokesperson, said.

Al-Maliki said the “terrorist attacks” by the Houthis are a “systematic” and “deliberate” attempt to target civilians.

The latest attempt follows a drone attack by Iran-aligned Houthis on Abha airport causing a fire in a civilian aircraft.

The group took responsibility for the attack shortly after hitting the airport. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea had said they used four drones for the attack.

The attack was widely condemned by world nations, with the US and Saudi officials holding talks to enhance defence.

The United States, in a statement, had warned that it would not let the Houthi leadership in Yemen ‘off the hook’ for such attacks. “Houthi leadership will find themselves sorely mistaken if they think this administration is going to let off the pressure, is going to let them off the hook for the reprehensible conduct that they continue to undertake,” Ned Price, the US State Department spokesperson, said.

The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing government forces fighting the Houthis.

Bahrain blasts “cowardly terrorist act”

Bahrain yesterday strongly condemned the Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militia’s attempt to target Abha International Airport, terming it “a cowardly terrorist act”. Bahrain’s Foreign Affairs Ministry statement said the attack using an explosive-laden drone aimed at the lives of innocent people and civilian facilities.

“This constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law,” said the statement.

The Kingdom praised the vigilance of the coalition forces in intercepting and destroying the drone.

Bahrain also reiterated its position that supports the relentless efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in confronting dangerous terrorist acts.