Yemen's Houthis launch drone attack on Saudi Abha airport

There was no mention of the attack in Saudi Arabia's official media, according to Reuters.

The attack on Abha airport in southwest Saudi Arabia near the border with Yemen is the latest in a string of Houthi drone attacks.

The rebels, who have loose ties to the Iranian regime,have ramped up cross-border attacks in recent months. 

Houthi-held areas have faced persistent bombing by a Saudi-led coalition since March 2015. The war in Yemen has inflicted a heavy civilian death toll and drawn criticism from the international community for triggering a dire humanitarian crisis.

Nine civilians were wounded in a July 3 Houthi attack on Abha airport, the coalition said.

A June 12 missile attack on the same airport wounded 26 civilians, drawing warnings of "stern action" from the coalition.

And on June 23, a rebel attack on Abha airport killed a Syrian and wounded 21 other civilians, the coalition said.

The raids come amid heightened regional tensions as key Saudi ally the United States presses a "maximum pressure" campaign against its arch-rival Iran after withdrawing from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between major powers and Tehran.

Yemen in Focus: UAE 'retreats from conflict' to protect its own borders

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly accused Iran of supplying sophisticated weapons to the Houthis, a charge Tehran denies.

The coalition intervened in support of the Yemeni government in 2015 when President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi fled into Saudi exile as the rebels closed in on his last remaining territory in and around Aden.

Since then, the conflict has killed at least 91,600 people, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, or ACLED, which tracks the violence.

The fighting has triggered what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with millions displaced and in need of aid.

Agencies contributed to this report.