Yemen rebels say drone hits arms depot at Saudi airport

The Associated Press

5 years ago

In this Sunday, May 19, 2019, photo released by the U.S. Navy, the fast combat support ship USN ... — In this Sunday, May 19, 2019, photo released by the U.S. Navy, the fast combat support ship USNS Arctic transports cargo to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln during a replenishment-at-sea in the Arabian Sea. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeff Sherman/U.S. Navy via AP)

FILE – In this Nov. 28, 2018, file photo, an armed Saudi soldier holds a walkie-talkie near Mukalla, Yemen, at an airport now serving as a military base for the United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell, File)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they launched a bomb-laden drone targeting an airport in Saudi Arabia that also has a military base inside of it.

The Houthi’s Al-Masirah satellite news channel said early Tuesday they targeted the airport in Najran with a Qasef-2K drone, striking an “arms depot” there.

A statement earlier Tuesday on the state-run Saudi Press Agency quoted Saudi-led coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki as saying the Houthis “had tried to target” a civilian site in Najran.

The New York Times last year reported that American intelligence analysts were based in Najran assisting the Saudis. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Last week, the Houthis launched a coordinated drone attack on a Saudi oil pipeline amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S.