SANAA/RIYADH, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were reportedly killed and eight others injured in Saudi-led coalition strikes on Yemen on Thursday, as the Houthis launched attacks targeting airports in Saudi Arabia amid escalating fighting.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement posted on social media platform X on Thursday that Saudi forces carried out 59 air and missile strikes on the capital Sanaa and 10 provinces over the past 24 hours.
In the southwestern Yemeni province of Taiz, an airstrike killed a man and a woman and injured six others, including two girls, while one was killed and two others were injured in the airstrikes in the central province of Ibb, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.
Al-Masirah also reported airstrikes on Hodeidah International Airport on the Red Sea coast and telecommunications facilities west of the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa, and in the western province of Raymah.
On Thursday, the Houthis launched multiple airstrikes on Saudi Arabia, claiming missile attacks on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and separate ballistic missile strikes on the country's southwestern Najran International Airport and King Khalid Air Base in the southwest.
In a statement, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the coalition forces intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles heading in the direction of Riyadh, and one missile in the direction of the city of Khamis Mushait, close to the Yemeni border, on Thursday.
The Saudi Civil Defense said in a statement that debris from an intercepted ballistic missile fell in the capital Riyadh on Thursday, causing material damage to a kindergarten and a medical complex.
Also in the day, many flights to Riyadh were canceled at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, a western Saudi city, leaving passengers stranded. As of 9 p.m. local time (1800 GMT), some flights on the Jeddah-Riyadh route resumed.
The recent escalation followed Houthi attacks on two Saudi airports on Tuesday and Wednesday that left three people dead and 36 others injured, according to the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation. The Houthis claimed responsibility for both attacks.
Earlier on Thursday, Houthi military spokesperson Sarea urged Saudi oil sector engineers and other employees to avoid areas at oil facilities that the Houthis considered potential "targets," saying the warning covered both previously targeted facilities and other unspecified locations.
Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday that Türkiye will not deploy troops to another country's territory to launch an attack, stressing the defensive nature of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement.
In a televised address, Fidan said that the pact is a defense agreement, "not an attack agreement", noting Türkiye is "doing everything" to resolve the Yemen conflict "through peace and dialogue."
Also on Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and the Arab League condemned the Houthis' attacks on Saudi Arabia. The Arab League said the kingdom's security is an integral part of Arab national security.
Citing three U.S. officials, U.S. news outlet Axios reported on Wednesday that Syria is considering sending troops to Yemen to assist the Saudi-led coalition in countering the Houthis, which was denied by Ahmad Zaidan, media advisor to the Syrian leader.
Yemen has been embroiled in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of the north. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, now based in the southern port city of Aden. The renewed fighting marked a major escalation after a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities. ■
