Yemeni army shoots down Saudi armed reconnaissance drone in Sa’ada

The Yemeni military says its air defense units have intercepted and shot down a Saudi unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the airspace over the country’s northwestern Sa’ada province while it was carrying out hostile operations over the area.

Spokesman for the Yemeni military, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said in a statement on Tuesday morning that the Yemeni armed forces detected and targeted an armed Wing Loong II reconnaissance drone belonging to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), using an appropriate weapon.

The development came shortly after the Yemeni army successfully targeted King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in a new ballistic missile strike.

Saree said in a separate statement that the operation achieved a direct and accurate strike on the airport.

He renewed a stern warning to international airlines, aviation experts, personnel, workers and travelers worldwide, advising them not to fly to Saudi airports, which he described as unsafe.

The warning specifically excludes the airports and airspace associated with the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

The Yemeni armed forces also launched a drone strike against King Khalid Air Base in southwestern Saudi Arabia, near the city of Khamis Mushait.

The latest escalation in Yemen began after Saudi Arabia bombed Sana’a’s international airport in July. The Yemeni armed forces responded by enforcing a “blockade for blockade” policy and declaring an embargo on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.

The Yemeni forces seized Yemen’s Red Sea coast in a lightning offensive, taking control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait — a strategic chokepoint for global trade and a key export route for Saudi oil.

They have also struck Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in recent weeks, marking some of the deadliest attacks on the kingdom in over a decade. At least 13 people were killed and hundreds wounded when Yemeni forces struck the Riyadh airport on Saturday.

Saudi authorities said operations at King Khalid International Airport would remain suspended after they reported another deadly attack on the facility.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia launched a devastating bombing campaign against Yemen to restore a Riyadh-friendly government in Sana’a and imposed a blockade on the country. Hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result, but the Saudi-led coalition has failed to achieve its stated objectives.

A fragile truce agreed in 2022 has unraveled in recent months, after the United States and Israel launched a military aggression against Iran, igniting a regional war.