There hasn’t been a statement by the armed forces spokesperson for the Ansar Allah Houthi group claiming responsibility for the attack on King Khalid International Airport.
– But they have stated previously that Saudi airports will be one of their main targets, and this is what we are seeing.
– As part of their “blockade for blockade” equation and “airport for airport”, this is precisely the formula that the Yemeni group is applying because of the attacks, according to the Ansar Allah Houthis, on Sanaa International Airport and because of the Saudi air strikes across various Yemeni provinces under the control of the group.
– Their way of retaliation, according to the group, is by attacking Saudi Arabia’s most precious assets, which are Aramco oil facilities and the airport in Riyadh, which is considered their biggest aviation hub.
– Although Saudi Arabia has said it will retaliate, let’s not forget that it’s carried out many air strikes across Yemen, and the Yemeni group is still able to launch ballistic missiles and drones towards Saudi Arabia.
Houthi attacks on civilian targets a response to Saudi-led coalition strikes in Yemen
– Nawaf Obaid, a senior research fellow at King’s College London and security and intelligence analyst, says the Houthis are hitting civilian targets on Saudi territory in response to air strikes by Saudi-led coalition forces on Yemen over the past two weeks.
– Obaid told Al Jazeera that attacks by the Iran-backed group were to be expected.
– “This is really the only way they can retaliate completely,” he said. Obaid added it was likely a ballistic missile used to strike a “very clearly defined civilian target” – Riyadh’s King Khaled International airport – due to the damage caused.
– The Saudi civil aviation authority said 12 people were killed, and more than 300 others were injured in the attack on Saturday.
– “That just gives you the nature of who and what Saudi Arabia and its allies are dealing with today.”
– He said the attack aimed to portray Saudi Arabia in a negative and weak light and “had to a large extent succeeded”. But he said the Houthis were “getting smashed” on the battlefield.
https://aje.news/58u90m?update=5035796