Yemen's Houthi rebels attacked the airport in Abha, a Saudi mountain resort city

Officials said that eight people had been taken to hospital after the rocket attack

A Saudi-led coalition is fighting the Houthi rebels in a vicious civil war in Yemen

Twenty-six people have been injured after Yemeni rebels attacked an airport in Saudi Arabia, prompting fresh tensions between Riyadh and its fierce regional rival Iran.

A missile fired by Houthi rebels hit the airport's arrivals hall in the mountain resort city of Abha, according to Saudi officials, injuring passengers of different nationalities.

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The Saudi-led coalition which is fighting the Houthis in Yemen immediately pointed the blame at Iran, saying Tehran had equipped the rebel group with 'advanced weapons'.

A rebel TV network acknowledged the attack and said Houthi forces had fired a cruise missile.

The scene at Abha airport in Saudi Arabia in the early hours of Wednesday after the missile attack

Emergency services at the scene after Yemeni rebels attacked the airport in Abha, a Saudi mountain resort city

Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV posted a photograph purportedly showing the missile launch

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How the Yemen conflict is a proxy for tension between Iran, the US and Saudi Arabia Yemen's civil war has been raging since 2015 and has global implications. On one side is a government-in-exile backed by Saudi Arabia, which in turn is an ally of the United States. On the other are the Houthi rebels, who also claim to be the legitimate government of Yemen. The Houthis are backed by Saudi Arabia's regional enemy, Iran. Tens of thousands of people have died and the UN says that most of the country's 29million people are in need of aid. The conflict has come to wider global prominence in recent months. First, the fallout from the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year strained relations between Saudi Arabia and the rest. It led to demands for Europe and the U.S. to stop providing arms to Saudi Arabia, some of which are used in Yemen. Second, the escalating tension between the U.S. and Iran has sparked fears that any sudden movement in Middle East politics could trigger a war. An attack on Saudi oil tankers last month, claimed by the Yemeni rebels, sent tensions spiralling as the U.S. blamed Iran for the act of sabotage. Donald Trump's White House has not ruled out military action against Iran, although both sides insist they do not want a war. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said there 'won't be any war' while U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. 'fundamentally does not seek any war'.

Eight of those wounded at Abha airport were admitted to hospital, coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said in a statement.

He said at least one Indian was among three women wounded along with two Saudi children.

The other 18 were discharged after receiving first aid. Flights from the airport, which is around 100 miles from the Yemeni border, were disrupted for several hours before returning to normal.

The attack is the latest flashpoint in long-running tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The rivalry is closely watched around the world because the U.S. is a close Saudi ally and any war with Iran could escalate into a wider conflict.

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A Saudi coalition statement called today's missile strike a 'terrorist attack'.

Accusing Iran of arming the rebels, the Saudis said the attack 'proves this terrorist militia's acquisition of new special weapons' [and] the continuation of the Iranian regime's support and practice of cross-border terrorism.'

The latest violence 'could amount to a war crime of targeting civilians and civilian objects in a systematic manner', the Saudis suggested.

The coalition has vowed to 'take stern action' to deter the rebels and protect civilians.

Saudi Arabia's ally Bahrain also condemned the attack, saying it was a 'cowardly criminal act against innocent civilians'.

The rebels acknowledged earlier that they had launched a missile at the airport in the Saudi city.

One Houthi spokesman, Mohammed Abdel-Salam, said the attack was in response to Saudi Arabia's 'continued aggression and blockade on Yemen.'

The latest Middle East flashpoint comes just weeks after the Houthi forces claimed responsibility for sabotaging Saudi oil tankers in the Gulf of Yemen.

Saudi and UAE officials were tight-lipped about the extent of the damage but pictures showed at least one tanker with a hole in its hull.

The mysterious sabotage sent tensions spiralling in the Middle East as the U.S. blamed Iran and its allies for the attack - which divers said appeared to be the work of magnetic explosives.

Emergency vehicles at the scene in Saudi Arabia this morning after a rocket attack hit the airport's arrivals hall

Twenty-six people were injured on Wednesday after Yemeni rebels attacked Abha international airport in Saudi Arabia (stock photo)

The Houthis said the sabotage was meant to send a message to the kingdom to 'stop your aggression' on Yemen.

The rebels, who have faced persistent coalition bombing since March 2015, have stepped up missile and drone attacks across the border in recent weeks.

The incidents sparked fears of a Gulf war breaking out 'by accident' with the U.S. and Iranian militaries on high alert amid high tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani has threatened to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal with the West, which is faltering already after Donald Trump pulled out of it last year.

The U.S. deployed B-52 bombers and an assault ship to bolster an aircraft carrier in the region.

Tensions heightened further after two pumping stations on a major Saudi oil pipeline were attacked by explosive-laden drones, halting the flow of crude along it.

Today Japanese leader Shinzo Abe will travel to Iran in an effort to ease tensions between the White House and Tehran.

The attacks on Wednesday and Thursday mark the latest flashpoint amid escalating Middle East tensions, which erupted again last month after tankers and an oil pipeline were targeted (pictured, a diagram showing the location of May's attacks)

Norwegian oil tanker Andrea Victory

Norwegian oil tanker Andrea Victory

Yemen's civil war has been raging since March 2015, with the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in the Middle East state.

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According to the United Nations, 22 of the country's 29million people are in need of aid.

An air strike by the Saudi-led coalition that killed dozens of people in Yemen last August was branded an apparent war crime by Human Rights Watch.

Yemen has also witnessed two outbreaks of cholera and acute watery diarrhea since 2016.

Earlier this year President Donald Trump vetoed a bill passed by Congress to end U.S. military assistance for the Saudis in Yemen.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani

Donald Trump at the White House today

Trump has been under pressure over relations with Saudi Arabia since the kingdom was blamed for murdering dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.

The columnist went missing on October 2 last year in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where Turkey believes he was killed and then dismembered with a bone saw.

Khashoggi, who had lived for a time in the U.S., wrote for The Washington Post and had been critical of the Saudi regime.

Riyadh initially denied any knowledge of his disappearance before saying Khashoggi was killed after 'negotiations' to convince him to return to Saudi Arabia failed.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman came under global suspicion over his possible role in the killing.

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The kingdom later said the death penalty was being sought against five suspects, in an effort to distance the prince from the murder.