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Sri Lankan among 12 injured at Saudi airport as drone intercepted

12 Feb, 2022

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A Sri Lankan was among 12 people injured at a Saudi airport after a drone was intercepted, foreign media reports said.

The Reuters news agency reported that 12 people were injured at Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport by shrapnel from an explosive-laden drone intercepted by air defences on Thursday.

In a statement carried by Al Arabiya TV, the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group had warned people in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa to avoid civilian locations used for military purposes while it strikes drone launch sites.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the group hit a military target at Abha airport with a Qasef 2 drone.

Air traffic operations at Abha civilian airport returned to normal after standard safety procedures following the drone interception, the coalition said in statements carried by state media.

Shrapnel from the drone attack at midday fell inside airport grounds and some glass facades were damaged, it said.

Light injuries were sustained by two Saudi nationals and citizens of Bangladesh, Nepal, India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. (Courtesy BBC)

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