Aircraft damaged by Unmanned Aerial System attack in Saudi  Arabia

A Yemen-based Houthi rebel group has claimed responsibility for an attack on Abha International Airport, Asir province, Saudi Arabia, on 10 February 2021.

Saudi state-linked media indicated that the attack caused a civilian aircraft to catch fire. The rebel group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they launched four bomb-laden drones. A Saudi military spokesman condemned the attack, and stated that air defences managed to shoot down two of the UASs (Unmanned Aerial System) - also named "suicide drones". This airport - only some seventy miles from the most northerly point of Yemen and Houthi claimed territory - was targeted by these rebels in a similar method in 2019.

FlyADeal Airbus A320-214 HZ-FAB (construction number 7867) arrived at Abha in the morning hours on a flight from Damman (Saudi Arabia) as FAD4512 and received damage on the aft left side of the fuselage. Unconfirmed reports also mentioned another aircraft that possibly caught fire on the runway of Abha, but that fire was quickly extinghuised by the airport fire department. Further details are unknown at this moment.

The conflict in Yemen started in 2014, when the Houthis seized large swaths of the country, including the capitol, Sana'a. In recent years, the Houthis - backed by Iran - have repeatedly used ballistic missiles, rockets and UASs to target international airports, along with military installations and critical oil infrastructure, within Saudi Arabia.