Yemen's Houthis claim new drone attack on Saudi airport, threaten Red Sea oil tankers

Yemen's Houthi rebels on Monday launched a fresh drone on the Abha airport in southern Saudi Arabia, rebel-linked media has claimed.

The group, which holds Yemen's capital Sanaa and surrounding areas, also threatened to launch other attacks on oil tankers in the Red Sea.

The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said on Twitter that the attack early on Monday used Qasef-2K drones to target the airport.

There has been no confirmation of the attack from Saudi Arabia.

The alleged attack comes two days after the Houthis on Saturday targeted the kingdom's Abha and Jizan airports, rendering them "unoperational".

The Abha, Jizan and Najran airports in southern Saudi Arabia have been frequent targets of Houthi drone and rocket strikes.

On Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it had "intercepted" and shot down a Houthi drone, according to the Saudi state news agency.

Tensions in the Gulf have skyrocketed between Saudi Arabia, the US and allies, and Iran.

Sabotage attacks on oil tankers have been pinned on Iran, as have Houthi-directed drone strikes on a major Saudi oil pipeline last month.

The Houthis deny their attacks on Saudi Arabia are directed by Iran, instead claiming the attacks are motivated by Saudi Arabia's failure to comply with peace initiatives in Yemen.

The kingdom has been at the helm of an international military coalition fighting in Yemen since 2015.

Read more: Yemen in Focus: Trump gifts Saudi Arabia its own bomb factory

The war has resulted in the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN, with almost 25 million people in need of aid.