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Saudis intercept multiple ballistic missiles fired from Yemen
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Huthi fighters man an anti-aircraft gun in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Dec.2, 2017, during clashes with supporters of Yemeni ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Clashes erupted in Yemen's capital late on December 1, witnesses said, as talks between feuding rebel allies failed to broker a truce. (Agence France -Presse/Mohammed Huwais)
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audi Arabia said it intercepted seven ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh and other cities by Houthi forces in Yemen, marking an escalation from previous rocket launches at the kingdom.
The missiles were intercepted over the northeastern part of the capital and the cities of Najran, Jazan and Khamis Mushait. Fragments killed one Egyptian national and injured two others in Riyadh, according to the Saudi Press Agency and state television El-Ekhbariya, citing the civil defense spokesman, Mohamed al-Humadi.
Dramatic footage emerges of Saudi air defense intercepting Houthi missile launched into Riyadh. pic.twitter.com/S4qttJ9MPZ
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) March 25, 2018
The attack came while Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is touring the US, promoting his kingdom’s 2030 vision. He has met with President Donald Trump and other US officials during his visit. The attacks also coincided with the third anniversary of the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen’s civil war.
The rebels targeted King Khaled International airport in Riyadh, Abha airport in Aseer and Najran’s airport, according to the Saba news agency and al-Maseera television. Rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi said in a televised speech that the group’s missile force is growing and that it enters the fourth year of the war with a “developed rocket system that cannot be intercepted by the US defense systems."
Saudi Arabia and its allies have been mired since 2015 in a conflict in Yemen to back an internationally recognized government against pro-Iranian Shiite rebels. The kingdom says the Houthi rebels are armed and backed by regional rival Iran.
While the kingdom’s allies have been able to recover areas in southern Yemen from the Houthis, the rebels still control the capital Sana’a and territories in the north.
New angle suggests this is actually a spectacular failure of a #Saudi interceptor and not the missile fired at #Riyadh pic.twitter.com/TejVbA8fh3
— Strategic Sentinel (@StratSentinel) March 25, 2018
