Saudi cities face growing threat of Yemen rebel drones

RIYADH: Yemen’s Iran-aligned Huthi rebels have stepped up drone and missile attacks on Saudi cities, highlighting what analysts call the kingdom’s military vulnerabilities amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Nine civilians were wounded Tuesday in a rebel attack on Abha airport in the kingdom’s south, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the rebels said, the latest in a series of recent strikes on the site.
The rebels claimed they had hit the airport with drones.
Here is a look at how the kingdom is facing Huthi retaliatory attacks four years after launching a military intervention against the rebels in Yemen, where tens of thousands have since been killed according to relief agencies.
– Leap in rebel capability – The rise in drone warfare targeting Saudi civilian airports, desalination plants and other infrastructure follows the prevalence of Huthi ballistic missiles, including some that targeted the capital Riyadh.