ISTANBUL - Yemen’s army said early Thursday that the Houthi group targeted Al-Rayyan International Airport in the city of Mukalla, the capital of Hadramout province, for the fourth time within hours, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
The army’s official spokesman, Maj. Gen. Majed al-Nuzaili, said the "Houthi terrorist militia targeted Al-Rayyan International Airport in Mukalla for the fourth time,” according to September Net, a website affiliated with Yemen’s Defence Ministry.
In a statement, Nuzaili said that "targeting airports aims to impose a blockade on the Yemeni people,” the website reported.
Al-Rayyan is one of Yemen’s most important civilian airports, serving millions of people in Hadramout and other provinces.
The Houthis had not immediately commented on the attack.
On Wednesday, the group attacked Al-Rayyan Airport in eastern Hadramout province with three drones.
According to an Anadolu correspondent, this was the first attack on the airport since the resumption of military escalation last July.
The state-run Saba channel also reported that the Houthis had targeted Aden International Airport in southern Yemen with a ballistic missile, without providing further details.
Local residents told Anadolu they heard a loud explosion near the airport.
The developments come amid the internationally recognised government’s ongoing military offensive against the Houthis in southwestern Yemen.
Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several other provinces in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government. - BERNAMA