This handout image provided by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Media on Feb 10, 2021 reportedly shows a view of the damaged hull of a Flyadeal Airbus A320-214 aircraft on the tarmac at Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia. A civilian plane was engulfed in flames on Feb 10 after Yemen's Houthi rebels launched a drone strike on the airport days after the US moved to delist the insurgents as "terrorists". (SAUDI MINISTRY OF MEDIA / AFP)
SANAA , Yemen / WASHINGTON- Yemen's Houthi militia on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a Saudi civilian airport.
The Houthi attempt to target a civilian airport and threaten civilian travellers is a war crime, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition said in a statement aired by the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television
"Our drone air force targeted Wednesday noon Abha airport by using four bomb-laden drones, which hit the target accurately," said Yahya Sarea, spokesman of the Houthi military, in a statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah television.
"The attack was in response to the airstrikes and blockade imposed by the (Saudi-led) coalition on our country," Sarea added.
Earlier in the day, the Saudi-led coalition said the Houthi militia's drone attack on Abha airport caused a fire in a passenger plane, adding the fire was put out later.
"The Houthi attempt to target a civilian airport and threaten civilian travellers is a war crime," the coalition said in a statement aired by the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television.
ALSO READ: Rebel sites hit as official Yemen airport toll climbs
This was the latest in a series of the Houthi militia's cross-border ballistic missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi civilian airports and oil facilities. Most of the attacks were foiled by the Saudi-led coalition.
This 12 June, 2019 AFP graphic shows a map locating Abha in Saudi Arabia.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed diplomatic efforts to end the war in Yemen and bolstering Saudi Arabia’s defenses in a call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the US State Department said.
The two officials “outlined diplomatic outreach to find a negotiated political settlement to the war in Yemen” and “discussed joint efforts to bolster Saudi defenses against attacks on the Kingdom,” the State Department said in a statement.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
READ MORE: 'War has to end': Biden ends US support for S. Arabia in Yemen
The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in 2015 to support Hadi's government.