Three people were wounded in attacks on two airports in southern Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border on Monday evening, the kingdom's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said Tuesday, as fighting with Yemen's Houthis intensifies.
"The attacks resulted in three minor injuries and material damage," the authority said, adding that King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Jazan and Najran International Airport were targeted.
The confirmation comes after the Houthis claimed a wave of missile and drone strikes across Saudi Arabia, including on Riyadh's main airport and an Aramco refinery, as a Saudi-backed Yemeni government offensive pushes to retake territory around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The injured were taken to the hospital for medical treatment, and emergency teams responded immediately in line with approved procedures, the authority said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
GACA said it was working with relevant security agencies to assess the damage and ensure the safety of passengers, staff and the kingdom's civil aviation system.
The statement did not identify who carried out the attacks.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Monday evening that the group carried out three operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, Anadolu reported.
Saree said the first targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and disrupted air traffic, and the second hit an Aramco refinery in Rabigh, in the Mecca region, causing a fire. The third targeted Abha Airport, the Khamis Mushait base and the Akfa camp in Asir province, along with what he called "sensitive sites" in Najran and Jazan.
Saree said the attacks were in response to 60 Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks over the previous 24 hours on Sanaa and the Yemeni provinces of Al-Jawf, Taiz, Hajjah, Saada and Marib.
Saree also warned international airlines against continuing flights through Saudi airspace, saying it was now within the group's area of operations, except for the airspace over Mecca and Medina.
Saudi Arabia on Monday condemned Houthi attacks on civilian and economic facilities across the kingdom, accusing the group of pursuing military escalation.
The escalation comes as Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan agreed at an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Monday to rapidly deploy military forces to the kingdom under their Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, following what they called attempted attacks on Mecca and Medina.