Saudi Intercepts Drone One Day After Biden Pledges Support to Tackle Houthis

The Houthi rebels in Yemen were militarily targeted by Saudi Arabia in the recent past.

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and US President Joe Biden. 

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@TRTWorldNow)

At least 12 people were injured in a drone attack targeting Abha’s airport on Thursday, 10 February, Al Arabiya reported.

The drone was intercepted, but the shrapnel that fell off led to the injuries of people belonging to various nationalities.

Air traffic, however, quickly return to normal, a spokesperson for the Arab Coalition said.

“We will take firm operational measures in response to the threat of targeting civilian airports and travellers," he added.

The report doesn't mention the culprits but the Houthi rebels in Yemen are the most likely to have been behind this.

They have been militarily targeted by Saudi Arabia in the recent past.

An air raid was conducted by the Saudi led coalition against a Houthi run prison in Northern Yemen last month in retaliation to the Houthis' attacks on the UAE.

The Houthis are supported by Iran, and they have targeted the UAE, a key ally of Saudi Arabia, as well in the past few weeks, in the form of missile attacks.

There have been three such attacks.

The first one killed three oil workers (two of them were Indian nationals) in Abu Dhabi on 17 January.

A second missile was intercepted a week later.

The third attack occurred on 31st January, and was also intercepted.

The drone attack comes one day after US President Joe Biden reiterated the United States' "commitment to support" Saudi Arabia against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The President underscored the U.S. commitment to support Saudi Arabia in the defense of its people and territory from these attacks and full support for UN-led efforts to end the war in Yemen. The President noted his commitment to ensuring that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon and briefed the King on ongoing multilateral talks to reestablish constraints on Iran’s nuclear program. The two leaders discussed matters pertaining to the Middle East region and Europe and agreed that their teams would remain closely coordinated over the coming weeks and months.

White House Press Statement

Biden also spoke to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on 9 February, Reuters reported.

The civil war in Yemen is often viewed as a proxy war between the two heavyweights of the Middle East- Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The Houthis have been fighting a war against the exiled government led by Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

The Hadi government is backed by Saudi Arabia.

Iran and the US have been rivals since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, and the US has been strongly allied to Saudi Arabia to curtail Iran's expanding influence in the region.

A more detailed understanding of the conflict can be found here.

(With inputs from Al Arabiya News)