Houthis claim fresh strike on Saudi Arabia's Abha airport

The Houthis say they've hit Abha International Airport once more. Group spokesperson Yahya Saree announced Tuesday that the strike on the airport in Saudi Arabia's southwestern Asir province was precise and managed to disrupt air traffic there. He also said the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Khamis Mushait Air Base, calling that strike direct.

Saree delivered both claims in a post on X. The statement marks another round in the group's repeated targeting of Abha, which sits close to the Yemeni border and has been in the Houthis' crosshairs before. The report offered no independent confirmation of the strikes or the damage they caused.

Saudi officials have not weighed in publicly on the claims. Airports in the kingdom's south have long been sensitive targets, given their proximity to Houthi-controlled territory and the steady drone and missile traffic aimed at them.

The announcement lands in a region already on edge. Global oil shipping has been disrupted since the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran and Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint that carries a huge share of the world's crude. Against that backdrop, every new claim of a strike on Saudi soil carries extra weight.

What happens next depends on whether Riyadh confirms the damage and how it responds. For now, the only account of Tuesday's attack comes from the Houthis themselves.