Plane catches fire after Yemeni rebels attack Saudi airport

A civilian plane was engulfed in flames in an attack Wednesday by Yemen’s Huthi rebels on an airport in southern Saudi Arabia, the Riyadh-led coalition battling the insurgents said.

“A cowardly criminal terrorist attack launched against Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia by the Huthi militia,” state-run Al-Ekhbariya television cited the coalition as saying.

“A fire that engulfed a passenger plane due to the Huthi attack on Abha Airport is under control,” it added.

The coalition did not report any casualties or say how the attack was carried out, but earlier in the day reported it had intercepted two “booby trap” drones in the south.

The incident was not immediately claimed by the Iran-backed Huthis.

But the rebels appear to be stepping up attacks on the kingdom as well as on Riyadh-backed Yemeni forces after the United States moved last week to delist the Huthis as a terrorist group.

The Huthis have also resumed an offensive to seize the Yemeni government’s last northern stronghold of Marib, according to a government source, with dozens of casualties on both sides.

The US State Department on Friday said it had formally notified Congress of its intention to revoke a terrorist designation against the rebels, which had been announced at the end of the administration of former President Donald Trump. Punch