Pakistan strongly condemns attempt by Houthi militants to target Saudi Arabia airport: FO

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office,  in a statement issued Tuesday, condemned a terror bid by  Houthi militants targeting Abha International Airport  of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia  (KSA).

 “Pakistan strongly condemns the recent attempt by the Houthi militants to target Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia, which was intercepted by the coalition forces," read a statement by the Foreign Office. 

It further stated that Pakistan wishes speedy recovery to those injured in the attack and calls for an immediate cessation of "the attacks that violate the international law and threatening peace and security in the KSA and region".

The FO  said that Pakistan reaffirms its support and solidarity with the KSA against any threat to the its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

 Houthi drone strikes injure eight 

A drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport wounded eight people, said the Saudi-led coalition battling Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen, reported Al Jazeera Tuesday.

Following an earlier reported attack, “a second drone attempting to attack Abha International Airport was intercepted and shot down,” on Tuesday the coalition said in a statement carried by the kingdom’s official Al-Ekhbariya television channel.

According to the channel, after the coalition intercepted the first attack, shrapnel hit parts of the airport near the runway.

The coalition said the second attack on the airport “constitutes a war crime” after it intercepted a booby-trapped drone earlier in the day.

In a second statement, the coalition said that those injured included one Saudi national, a Nepalese, three people from India and three from Bangladesh — one of whom was in critical condition.