UAE condemns deadly Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport

Attack that killed one and wounded seven comes after Saudi Arabia, UAE, US and UK spoke against Iran’s role in Yemen

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The UAE has strongly condemned a Houthi drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport late on Sunday that killed a Syrian civilian and wounded seven other people.

Earlier on Sunday, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said they had targeted Abha and Jizan airports in southern Saudi Arabia, the group’s Al Masirah TV reported.

“A terrorist attack by the Iran-backed Houthi militia targeted Abha airport, killing a Syrian resident and wounding seven civilians,” the Arab Coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen told Saudi state television.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation said the terrorist attack “flies in the face of all international laws and conventions”.

“The UAE strongly condemns this terrorist act and labels it as a new evidence of the Iranian-backed Houthi militias’ hostile and terrorist tendencies to undermine security and stability in the region,” the ministry said.

“The UAE reiterates its solidarity with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia against any threat to its security and stability, and supports all measures taken by the Saudi government to maintain the security of its citizens and residents.

“The security of the UAE and of the kingdom is indivisible. Any threat or danger to Saudi Arabia’s security is considered a threat to the UAE’s security and stability.”

Bahrain, Egypt and Kuwait also condemned the terrorist attack on the airport.

Jordan’s Ministry of Affairs said that any attack on Saudi security was an assault on the security of the region.

It is the second attack on Abha airport this month. On June 12, a missile attack injured 26 civilians, including two children.

Two days later, Saudi Arabia intercepted five Houthi drones aimed at the complex.

Over the past month, the Iran-backed rebels have increased their missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities.

Riyadh has accused Tehran of supplying the Houthis with the weapons used in the June 12 attack on Abha airport.

The Saudi led-coalition, including the UAE, has been fighting the rebels since 2015, when the Houthis overran the capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah.

Earlier on Sunday, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the UK and the US came together to voice their concerns over Iran's role in sowing discord in Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, announced on Sunday that he would travel to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for talks, to discuss building a global coalition against Iran.

Speaking as he left Washington for the Arabian Gulf, he said he would talk with representatives in Jeddah and Abu Dhabi about how to “make sure that we are all strategically aligned”.