Saudi Arabia responds to drone and cruise missile attacks, and other Mideast developments

CAIRO, (AP):- Saudi forces have responded to a drone and cruise missile attack on the Kingdom from Yemen, state-run media reported Monday. Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels said airstrikes on two districts in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa and in the country’s north killed 10 people and wounded 19 others.

Saudi forces respond to attacks from Yemen

Saudi state-run media say their forces have responded to attacks on the Kingdom, but didn’t give further details.

The report came after the country’s Houthi-run Health Ministry and the Houthi-controlled SABA news agency said airstrikes on Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and in the northern province of al-Jawf killed 10 people and wounded 19 others.

Health Ministry spokesman Anees al-Asbahi said a strike on a salt factory in Sanaa’s Hamadan district killed a man and wounded eight people. A separate strike on a house wounded a woman and three children, he said.

The strike in al-Jawf targeted a government complex and a house, killing nine people including five children and a woman while wounding seven others, according to SABA. No details were provided about when the strikes occurred.

The rebels’ media center blamed Saudi Arabia for the strikes on Sanaa, which came as the Houthis continued to fire missiles and drones toward the kingdom’s airports.

Closure of Saudi capital’s airport extended

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation didn’t say Monday when King Khalid Airport in the capital of Riyadh will resume operations.

Houthi rebels have attacked the airport multiple times in recent days, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 320 others.

Saudi Arabia launches probe into air defense failure

Saudi authorities opened an investigation into an air defense failure to respond to Houthi missiles that hit the King Khalid Airport, one of the most secure areas in the kingdom.

Two regional officials said on Monday an initial probe showed that the Houthis first fired multiple drones to pave the way for a mix of cruise and ballistic missiles to reach the airport. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak to the media.

Some of the missiles can maneuver and escape the interceptors fired by the Patriot battery, they said.

One of the officials said the probe also seeks to answer why there wasn’t early warning of the attack since the Houthi missiles and drones traveled over 1,000 kilometers to reach Riyadh.