Saudi capital’s airport opens to limited traffic, and other Mideast news

The Saudi capital’s airport is back in business after multiple Houthi strikes this month, though only Saudi airlines were operating there on Wednesday.

A British naval maritime security organization said a projectile ignited a fire aboard a tanker off Oman, but its crew is safe.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Wednesday. Read our full coverage here.

Saudi capital’s airport reopens but flights limited

A limited number of Saudi airlines took off and landed at the country’s main airport on Wednesday, two days after authorities notified airlines that they could resume operations with prior permission.

Saudia and FlyNas were operating flights Wednesday, according to flight-tracking data published by FlightAware. Major carriers, including Lufthansa and Air France, have canceled flights through mid-November.

Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has been hit multiple times by Yemen’s Houthi rebels this month and shut down on Oct. 10. A drop in air traffic could signal longer-term economic consequences for Saudi Arabia, extending beyond the damage caused by the Houthi strikes.

The Houthis have acknowledged attacking the airport, claiming without evidence that Saudi Arabia provided military equipment to government forces through the facility.

Projectile strike ignites fire aboard tanker off Oman

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization said Wednesday an unknown projectile ignited a fire aboard a tanker in the Persian Gulf off Oman.

The attack occurred 11 nautical miles west of the coastal town of Bukha in the Omani province of Musandam, it said.

The UKMTO said the fire was extinguished and the tanker was at anchor, with its crew safe.

The attack was the latest against vessels attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz without coordinating with Iran amid its conflict with the United States.

Houthi drones targeting Saudi Arabia destroyed

Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, said in a social media post Wednesday that five drones fired towards Saudi Arabia were intercepted and destroyed over the holy city of Medina.

The attack was the latest on Saudi Arabia since the resurgence of fighting with the Houthis in mid-July. The Yemeni rebels repeatedly struck targets in the kingdom, including oil facilities and airports, and engaged in fierce clashes with Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in Yemen.

The coalition, in turn, hit the rebel-held areas in Yemen including the capital, Sanaa and provided air cover to a major offensive the Yemeni government launched earlier this month.

Houthi missile hits army camp next to Yemeni airport

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said a ballistic missile struck a military camp adjacent to Yemen’s Aden airport in Khor Maksar district.

The Houthis claim the military camp houses a command center for the Saudi-led forces fighting the rebels.

A transportation ministry official in Aden said a civilian airplane had taken off from the airport before the strike, while the departure hall was evacuated.

He said operations in the airport were temporarily suspended and that there was no damage to the tarmac. The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

This is the second time the Houthis claim to have targeted the military camp inside the airport complex in five days and the third this month.

The area near Aden airport also houses government offices including those for the interior ministry and the coast guard.

— By Sara El Deeb in Beirut and Samy Magdy in Cairo

Yemen’s government expands its terrorist list to deny funds to Houthi rebels

Yemen’s internationally recognized government has added 135 people, firms and vessels to its terrorist list as part of efforts to deny the Houthi rebels its sources of financing.

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani on Wednesday called the decision a “significant step” that aims at “cutting off terrorist financing, dismantling the militia’s financial and commercial networks.”

The list included bankers, military and financial officials working with the Houthis. It also included five tankers and a firm based in the United Arab Emirates that allegedly smuggled oil to the Houthis.

Al-Eryani called on foreign countries and international financial institutions to cooperate with the Yemeni government tracking “terrorist financing networks, money laundering operations, and Iranian oil smuggling activities” linked to the Houthis.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis or the sanctioned people or firms. It wasn’t immediately clear how the measures will impact the Houthis’ finances.

Funeral service held for 75 Yemeni recruits killed in Houthi missile strike

A soccer field was the venue for a military funeral Wednesday for 75 Yemeni recruits killed in a Houthi missile strike in southern Yemen earlier this week.

Shabawa Governor Awad Ibn al-Wazir and senior government and military officials attended the funeral in the provincial capital of Ataq.

Monday’s strike on the al-Alam military camp in Shabawa province was the deadliest attack since the resurgence of fighting in Yemen’s civil war. More than 200 recruits were wounded in the attack.

In a statement after the funeral, Ibn al-Wazir pledged to hold those responsible for the strike accountable.

Iraq closes busy border crossing with Iran

Iraqi authorities on Wednesday closed a busy southeastern border crossing with Iran until further notice, two Iraqi government officials told The Associated Press.

The officials said the closure of the al-Sheeb border crossing on Wednesday was for technical reasons to install security cameras and bolster infrastructure to combat smuggling. The officials were speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The crossing that links southeastern Iraq’s Maysan province with Iran’s Khuzestan southwest of the Islamic Republic is often busy with traffic.

— By Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut

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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.