At least 12 people injured after drone intercepted above Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport

Saudi Arabia’s air defenses have intercepted a drone targeting Abha’s airport, an Arab Coalition spokesperson said.

At least 12 people of different nationalities were injured as a result of the attack on Thursday afternoon, the spokesperson added.

Debris from the intercepted drone reportedly fell within the vicinity of the airport. Air traffic had returned to normal just over an hour after the initial report, the spokesperson said.

“We will take firm operational measures in response to the threat of targeting civilian airports and travelers,” a coalition spokesperson said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

Abha, near Saudi Arabia’s southern border with Yemen, is a regular target of drone and missile strikes launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militia fighting coalition forces in Yemen.

One notable attack occurred on Tuesday August 31, when eight civilians were injured after an explosive-laden drone was intercepted above the airport.

Several attacks in June of 2019 led to the death of one Syrian national, and injured 47 others.

A civil war has been raging in Yemen since the Iran-backed Houthis took control of the capital Sanaa in 2014.

The Arab Coalition including Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened in 2015.