New Delhi: As Saudi Arabia gets pulled deeper into a war in Yemen, India on Thursday (October 8) condemned the attacks on two Saudi airports which have killed at least three people and expressed “solidarity” with the Gulf Kingdom, but without directly naming the perpetrators.“India condemns the attacks over the past few days targeting Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which have resulted in civilian deaths and injuries,” said a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).Stating that the targeting of civilian infrastructure is “completely unacceptable,” the MEA statement added, “We express solidarity and stand with the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”It expressed condolence for the families of those killed and speedy recovery for those injured.The attacks came as fighting intensified in Yemen between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces, with the latest violence centred on areas around the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.Saudi civil aviation authorities said one Sudanese national was killed and eight wounded in an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, while Morroccan and Algerian residents were killed and 28 wounded in an attack on facilities at Abha airport.The Iran-backed Houthis military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with drones. A day later, the Houthis separately claimed that they had attacked King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia of the latest Houthi claim.The spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, said forces intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh and destroyed a platform in Yemen’s capital of Sana that had been used to launch attacks on the Saudi capital, as per Associated Press.Saudi Arabia and allied Yemeni forces launched a major ground and air offensive aimed at retaking territory that the rebels seized a month ago along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast and on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.Those positions gave the Houthis better surveillance as they pursue a blockade of Saudi-linked shipping. On Monday, officials said forces of the Saudi-led coalition recaptured several key areas around the strait, through which about 12% of global trade transits.As Riyadh has been targeted over the past week, new cage-like fences have been erected around fuel tanks and other equipment of the Saudi state-run Aramco oil company near the capital’s airport. The kingdom, the world’s top oil exporter, has seen oil and military assets targeted in recent days, posing a threat to crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has been curtailed due to the Iran war.Inside Yemen, fighting has centered in and around the crucial town of Dhubab, some 54 kilometers south of the port city of Mokha that the rebels seized last month, according to both the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government.Two Houthi officials said Wednesday that the rebels had regained control of key areas of Yemen’s southwestern coast, including Dhubab and the nearby village of Al-Jadid, as well as the Bab el-Mandeb strait, after intensified fighting with Saudi-backed coalition forces.The Houthis also claimed that Saudi forces had targeted “civilian assets” over the past 24 hours in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, as well as Taiz, Jawf and other active fronts, including Saada and Marib.Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said, without providing evidence, that fighter jets used in the attacks had taken off from Khamis Mushait and Taif in Saudi Arabia, while missiles had been launched from Najran and Jizan. The rebels have repeatedly claimed attacks on those Saudi cities in recent weeks.Al-Malki has vowed “full operational support” to Yemeni government forces until the Houthis are “eliminated.” The coalition has said 100 fighter jets were providing support. Another aim is to liberate Sanaa, Yemen’s rebel-controlled capital.Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi criticised Saudi Arabia over support for Yemen’s government forces in the latest escalation with the Houthis, which has shattered a truce reached four years ago.Rebels are ready to support Palestinians in every way they can in case of “any new round of escalation” with Israel, al-Houthi said in a speech Wednesday expressing solidarity with Gaza on the third anniversary of Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.The offensive began after the rebels seized Turbah town on a main road linking the provincial capital of Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, with Aden, the seat of the internationally recognised government. Officials have said U.S. support has included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning.The escalation has revived Yemen’s civil war after a four-year ceasefire. Almost 1,000 people have been killed in the latest fighting, with over 200,000 displaced, according to the United Nations. Cholera and malnutrition cases are increasing, access to trauma care is more difficult and some hospitals have shortages of surgical and other supplies, the World Health Organisation said this week.The Houthis also said they launched a missile strike early Wednesday against Aden. Explosions were heard by an AP journalist around 2 am.The rebels hit a military camp close to the city’s airport with ballistic missiles, Saree said. Security authorities in Aden said the Houthis targeted the airport with two missiles, with no casualties. The airport is close to the seat of government.One missile hit close to the runway just before the scheduled landing of a flight from Cairo, the Human Rights Ministry said. Flight 603, operated by Yemen’s flagship airline, landed safely in Aden at 3.30 am, according to the flight tracking platform FlightAware.The ministry said the missile hit as other passengers were waiting to board their flight to the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.(with AP inputs)