Yemen's Houthis launch second drone attack in 24 hours on Saudi airport

The Iran-linked faction targeted "hangers containing war planes" at the airport in southwest Saudi Arabia, the Houthi-linked Al-Masirah television station reported early on Wednesday.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia

Najran, 840 kilometers southwest of Riyadh, is near the Saudi-Yemen border and has repeatedly been targeted by the Houthis over the past four years.

The Houthis said on Tuesday they had successfully targeted an "arms depot" at Najran Airport.

A Saudi coalition spokesperson later confirmed the attack, but claimed that the group had attempted to attack a "civilian target" at the airport, which hosts both civilian and military airports.

Spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki told Sky News Arabia that the Houthis should be careful not to target "civilian infrastructure" or the Saudi-led coalition would "respond firmly… in accordance with international law".

Saudi Arabia has since 2015 led an international coalition targeting the Houthis in a brutal war which the United Nations says has led to the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Similar attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Houthis have sparked rounds of Saudi-led airstrikes on Yemen, which have been widely criticised for killing civilians.

Civilian airports throughout the Middle East often host military bases.

The New York Times last year reported that American intelligence analysts were based in Najran, assisting the Saudis and a US Army Green Berets deployment on the border. The Pentagon and the US military's Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Saudi media on Monday accused the Houthis of launching ballistic missiles at the Mecca area - an attack strongly denied by the Houthis.

Last week, the rebels launched coordinated drone assaults on a Saudi oil pipeline amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US.