Riyadh: Saudi forces on Friday intercepted five drones launched by Iran-aligned Yemeni rebels, a Riyadh-led military coalition said, in a second assault on an airport in the kingdom's southwest in two days.
The drones targeted Abha airport, where a rebel missile on Wednesday left 26 civilians wounded, and the nearby city of Khamis Mushait, which houses a major airbase, the coalition said in a statement released by Saudi state media.
The latest raid comes amid spiralling regional tensions after Washington accused Iran of carrying out attacks that left two tankers ablaze in the Gulf of Oman, the second such incident in a month in the strategic sea lane.
"The royal Saudi air defence force and air force successfully intercepted and destroyed five unmanned drone aircraft launched by Huthi militia towards Abha international airport and Khamis Mushait," the coalition statement said without reporting any casualties.
The airport was operating normally with no fights disrupted, the statement added. Huthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported earlier that the Iran-aligned rebels had carried out drone attacks on Abha Airport.
The rebels, who have faced persistent coalition bombing since March 2015 that has exacted a heavy civilian death toll, have stepped up missile and drone attacks across the border in recent weeks.
Wednesday's missile strike hit the civil airport in the mountain resort of Abha, which is a popular summer getaway for Saudis seeking escape from the searing heat of Riyadh or Jeddah.
During a media tour of the airport on Thursday, Saudi authorities said they had closed a part of the arrival lounge after the missile tore a hole in the roof and disrupted flights for several hours.
The area was covered in bamboo scaffolding and littered with concrete debris and shards of broken glass, AFP saw.
Two passengers, including an Indian national, who suffered mild injuries recalled pandemonium and screams after a loud explosion triggered a blaze, leaving the lounge covered in smoke.
A Saudi civil aviation official said authorities were still investigating rebel claims that they fired a cruise missile at the airport. If confirmed that would represent a major leap in the rebels' military capability, experts say.
The official also confirmed that it had not been intercepted by the kingdom's Patriot anti-missile batteries. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly accused Iran of arming the rebels with sophisticated weapons, a charge Tehran denies.
The coalition vowed to "take stern action" to deter the rebels and protect civilians after the missile attack, which drew international condemnation including from the European Union.
The coalition intervened in support of the Yemeni government in 2015 when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled into Saudi exile as the rebels closed in on his last remaining territory in and around second city Aden.
Since then, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians, relief agencies say.
It has triggered what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with 24.1 million Yemenis -- more than two-thirds of the population -- in need of aid.
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Mumbai, Mar 29: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday asked the BJP to apologise to former prime minister Manmohan Singh after the CBI filed a closure report in its Air India-Indian Airlines merger case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a closure report in its probe into the alleged irregularities in the leasing of aircraft by NACIL, a company formed by the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines during the UPA era, as there was no "evidence of any wrongdoing", officials said Thursday.
NCP leader Praful Patel, who now belongs to the outfit headed by Ajit Pawar, was the Union civil aviation minister in the earlier Congress-led United Progress Alliance (UPA) government when the leasing was done.
Talking to reporters, Raut said the BJP had made a hue and cry over alleged corruption in the civil aviation sector during Manmohan Singh's tenure as PM.
"The BJP must apologise to Dr Singh," he said.
The National Aviation Corporation of India Limited (NACIL) was formed after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines.
The CBI has alleged that the decision was made "dishonestly", and the aircraft were leased even while an acquisition programme was going on.
The leasing decision was taken "in conspiracy with other unknown persons on extraneous considerations" that resulted in "pecuniary benefit" to private companies and consequent "loss to the government exchequer," the CBI had alleged in its FIR.
About the reported discord among MVA partners ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Raut said there is no dispute among the allies over seat sharing.
The opposition grouping MVA comprises the Congress, Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
"On April 3, a press conference of MVA leaders will be held at Shivalaya, the Sena (UBT) office. Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar and Congress leaders Nana Patole, Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat will be present," he said.
Raut also said that Thackeray will also attend the opposition INDIA bloc rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on March 31, organised to "safeguard the country's interests and democracy".
The opposition parties announced the rally last week following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an excise policy-linked money-laundering case.