SANAA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group said Wednesday it launched a new wave of ballistic missile and drone attacks targeting airports and military installations across Saudi Arabia.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said several drones targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, claiming that the attack disrupted air traffic.
He also said ballistic missiles and drones targeted Abha International Airport and King Khalid Air Base near Khamis Mushait in the southwestern Asir region, as well as three military camps in the Jazan and Asir regions bordering Yemen.
Sarea claimed the attacks caused damage, disrupted air traffic and left dozens killed or wounded, but the claims could not be independently verified.
The Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile north of Riyadh. It said coalition intelligence was tracking the missile's launch platform over Sanaa and vowed to destroy it.
Separately, Sarea said Houthi forces had shot down a Saudi CH-4 armed reconnaissance drone over Yemen's northern province of Al-Jawf, a claim that could not be independently verified.
The cross-border attacks came amid intensified fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, particularly near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait. Saudi forces have stepped up air operations, while the Houthis have increased missile and drone strikes inside Saudi Arabia.
Yemen's conflict began in late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government, now based in Aden. ■
