Yemeni military authorities reported on Thursday that Houthi forces launched multiple attacks against Al Rayyan International Airport in Mukalla. The facility came under fire for the fourth time in just a few hours.
Maj. Gen. Majed al-Nuzaili, the official spokesman for the army, said the Houthi militia targeted the infrastructure repeatedly. The Yemeni Defense Ministry news website, September Net, published the statement.
Nuzaili stated that the attacks on civil aviation hubs are intended to impose a tight blockade on the Yemeni population. Al Rayyan serves as a key transportation link for millions of residents living in Hadramout and surrounding provinces.
The Houthi movement did not immediately issue a comment regarding the latest strikes on the eastern facility. The assault followed an earlier drone strike on Wednesday involving three unmanned aerial vehicles targeting the same airport in Hadramout province.
Journalists on the ground confirmed the incident represented the first direct strike on Al Rayyan since military hostilities resumed in July. State media outlet Saba also reported a separate ballistic missile strike directed at Aden International Airport in southern Yemen.
Residents living near the Aden facility told reporters they heard a loud explosion echo across the area. Details regarding casualties or structural damage from the missile strike on Aden are limited.
These developments unfold as the internationally recognised Yemeni government pursues an ongoing military offensive against Houthi forces in the southwestern region.
Yemen has suffered through a devastating civil war since Houthi fighters captured the capital Sanaa and multiple other provinces in September 2014. A regional coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in March 2015 to back the legitimate government.
