A security officer walks past Saudi Arabia's Abha airport in 2019. The airport, close to the Yemeni border, has become a regular target for the Houthis. Reuters
A security officer walks past Saudi Arabia's Abha airport in 2019. The airport, close to the Yemeni border, has become a regular target for the Houthis. Reuters
A security officer walks past Saudi Arabia's Abha airport in 2019. The airport, close to the Yemeni border, has become a regular target for the Houthis. Reuters
A security officer walks past Saudi Arabia's Abha airport in 2019. The airport, close to the Yemeni border, has become a regular target for the Houthis. Reuters

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Saudi Arabia

US condemns Houthi ‘terrorist attack’ on Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport

At least 12 civilians injured by shrapnel from shot-down drone

Ismaeel Naar
Ismaeel Naar

February 11, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

The US has condemned what it described as a terrorist attack by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels that struck Saudi Arabia's commercial airport in Abha on Thursday.

At least 12 civilians were injured by shrapnel when a drone was shot down.

“The United States condemns the terrorist attack by the Houthis that struck the commercial airport in Abha, Saudi Arabia, injuring at least a dozen innocent civilians,” said US State Department spokesman Ned Price.

“We wish the victims a full recovery. Repeated attacks of the last several weeks have harmed civilians and civilian infrastructure and undermine international efforts for a peaceful solution to the Yemen conflict and threaten the more than 70,000 US citizens living in Saudi Arabia.”

The injured, who have not been identified, include travellers and workers of various nationalities, said the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen in two statements carried by state media. The coalition is supporting Yemen's government against the Houthis.

“The Houthis have pursued a dangerous pattern of increasingly obstructive and aggressive actions against Yemenis, Yemen’s neighbours, and the international community. As President Biden reiterated in his call to King Salman yesterday, the United States is firmly committed to supporting the defence of Saudi Arabia,” said Mr Price.

“The United States, along with the international community, continues to urge de-escalation of the conflict. The parties should come to the negotiating table to work together and support the new, more inclusive UN-led peace process.”

Houthi attacks have become increasingly common, with air defence teams intercepting rockets and drones on an almost daily basis.

The Houthis also often target Abha airport, which lies close to the Yemeni border in Saudi Arabia's south. Most are intercepted but a few people have been killed and several injured.

The Houthi drone and missile programme has, since the war began in 2015, become increasingly sophisticated. Experts and officials say the Yemeni rebels have been aided by Iran and its main proxy Hezbollah.

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If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

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3. More tax audits

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4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

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5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes. 

7. Limited time periods for audits

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The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

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