The Saudi-led coalition said Wednesday it had struck and destroyed 82 Houthi military targets in response to attacks on two Saudi airports that left three people dead and 36 wounded, according to Saudi authorities and the coalition.

Deadly strikes on two airports

Saudi authorities said Wednesday that three people were killed and 36 wounded in attacks claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on Abha International Airport and Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. The Saudi civil aviation authority said in a statement that the two airports were attacked on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The dead were all foreign nationals, according to the report.

• •An Egyptian national was killed at Abha airport
• •An Algerian national was killed at Abha airport
• •A Sudanese national was killed at Riyadh's airport

It was the second time this week the Houthis claimed to have attacked Riyadh's main airport.

Riyadh missile intercepted

The Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Wednesday on X that the strike had affected operations at the airport.

The Saudi-led coalition said the missile was intercepted and that it destroyed the ballistic missile launch platform used in the attack. Saree also said drones and missiles targeted Abha airport and King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, claiming they had hit their targets accurately.

Coalition response: 82 targets destroyed

The coalition said on X that the attacks on civilians would not go unpunished, and that its strikes hit 82 "legitimate military targets," including ballistic missile facilities, command-and-control centers, communication systems and Houthi gathering sites.

The coalition has been fighting the Houthis since 2015 and said Monday it was providing air support for the Yemeni government's counter-offensive. Yemen's internationally recognised government this week declared a major counter-offensive and claims to have pushed Houthi fighters out of strategic Red Sea areas and the port city of Mocha.

The Houthis say they are holding their territory. Military sources from both sides told AFP no major changes on the ground had been reported, and claims are hard to verify because access for journalists is difficult.

Aden diversion and widening war

The attacks extended beyond Saudi soil. The Houthis said they targeted a military supply convoy near the airport in Aden, the interim capital for Yemen's government, and Saba news agency reported missiles and drones targeting that airport.

According to transport authorities cited by Saba, one of the missiles landed near the runway minutes before the scheduled arrival of a flight from Cairo, forcing it to divert to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

The fighting inside Yemen has intensified since the civil war re-erupted in July after a four-year ceasefire. Last month the Houthis seized the entire western coastline along the Red Sea.

The toll is mounting on several fronts:

• •New clashes Wednesday in Yemen's west left at least 62 combatants dead, including 37 Houthis, military sources from both camps told AFP
• •Saba reported the Houthis fired a missile at Taiz, a city held by government forces, wounding five civilians
• •The United Nations said Wednesday the fighting has displaced more than 200,000 people within Yemen

Taiz resident Al-Fateh al-Eisaei told AFP he saw young civilians hit by the shell.

Yemen's government aims to retake all Houthi territory, which is home to most of the population and much of which has been held for more than a decade. The war has left most of the country's population dependent on aid.