Saudi-Led Jets Bomb Sanaa Runway To Block Iranian Plane

Saudi-led coalition warplanes bombed the runway of Sanaa's main airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing there, the Al-Arabiya television channel reported on Tuesday.



"The runway was bombed to prevent an Iranian plane from landing in defiance of the [coalition-imposed] air embargo," the news channel "ed sources close to the Saudi leadership as saying.



A Yemeni official also confirmed the bombing of the runway.



"The raids destroyed the runway, along with one plane," Mazen Ghanem of Yemen's aviation authority said.



There has been no comment from the Saudi-led coalition regarding the assertions.



Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies have been waging a fierce air campaign – now in its fifth week – against Yemen's Shiite Houthi group.



Riyadh says the campaign is in response to appeals by Yemen's embattled president, ABD Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, for help against the Houthis, who overran capital Sanaa late last year and have since advanced on other provinces.



The Houthis, for their part, denounce the offensive as unwarranted "Saudi-American aggression" against Yemen.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Kahire