Yemen rebels claim drone attacks on 2 Saudi airports

SANAA, Yemen

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Monday claimed drone attacks on two airports in Saudi Arabia.

Rebel spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement that Houthi drones were fired towards the Abha International Airport and the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah province.

"The strike was accurate," he claimed, adding that flights at the airports were suspended for two hours following the attacks.

There was no comment from the Saudi-led coalition on the claim.

The rebel movement regularly announces rocket and drone attacks on Saudi territories, saying they are a reaction to the Saudi-led coalition’s assault on Yemen.

Yemen has been wracked by violence and instability since 2014, when Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crisis with nearly 80% or about 30 million of its people needing humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million in danger of starving to death.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz