SANAA, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi group said on Monday that it had launched ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport, saying the operation was in retaliation for what it described as Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport earlier in the day.

Yahya Sarea, the Houthi military spokesperson, said in a televised statement broadcast by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV that the operation targeted Abha airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia with "a number of ballistic missiles and drones."

"The operation successfully achieved its objectives," Sarea said, without providing details on possible casualties or damage.

The spokesperson warned airlines against using Saudi airspace until restrictions on flights to and from Sanaa International Airport are lifted.

He also said Saudi Arabia would bear responsibility for any consequences of the latest escalation and vowed that Houthi forces would take further measures to halt what the group described as a blockade on Sanaa airport.

Earlier in the day, a spokesperson of the coalition forces for Yemen said Saudi air defenses responded to a "threat" involving ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group toward the kingdom's southern region.

Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi condemned the missile attack, stressing that the attack constituted a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law.

The developments followed a rapidly escalating confrontation that began early Monday over an Iranian passenger plane carrying a senior Houthi delegation from Tehran to Sanaa.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government accused Iran of violating Yemen's sovereignty by operating direct flights to Houthi-controlled Sanaa and alleged that such flights could be used to transport military personnel and technical experts. The Houthis rejected the allegations.

Airstrikes later struck the runway of the Houthi-controlled Sanaa airport as the Iranian passenger plane approached the Yemeni capital. The aircraft was subsequently diverted and landed at Hodeidah airport in Yemen's Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

The Houthis said the strikes were carried out by Saudi warplanes, while authorities aligned with the Yemeni government said the runway had been targeted to prevent the Iranian aircraft from landing. Saudi Arabia had not issued an immediate statement on the incident.

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized control of the capital, Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.