Saudi intercepts Houthi missile fired at Najran

Saudi coalition forces have reported the second missile attack on the kingdom’s territory from Yemen in less than 24 hours.

State-run Saudi Press Agency said yesterday an attack on Jazan was intercepted late Monday morning.

Read: Saudi intercepts missile fired towards Jazan

In the latest incident, the coalition said Yemen’s Houthis launched the missile from Imran province towards populated areas in the city of Najran at 8:50am on Tuesday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki repeated previous claims, backed by the US, that Iran is providing the Houthis with missile components to attack populated areas of Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom has been targeted by more than 181 missile attacks since entering the Yemen civil war in 2015 to support ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against the Houthis.

Another missile launch targeting Najran was reported on Saturday.

Read: Saudi air defences intercept missile fired towards Najran

While the majority of the attacks have been intercepted by air defences, some have also resulted in deaths, including one civilian killed in Jazan earlier this month and three civilians killed in Jazan on June 9.

Read: One killed, 11 injured in Jazan after Saudi intercepts missile fired from Yemen

Three civilians killed in missile attack in Saudi’s Jazan

Saudi Arabia as well as the US have blamed Iran for arming the Houthis, although Tehran has denied any role in the matter.

Also read: UN panel says missiles launched at Saudi show Iranian characteristics

On Monday evening, the Saudi coalition accused the United Nations of issuing “non-neutral” statements ahead of the publishing of a report suggesting some of its air strikes in Yemen may have amounted to war crimes.

The UN panels investigation of 11 incidents raised “serious concerns about the targeting process applied by the coalition”, according to Reuters.

Both sides were also accused of conscripting children aged between 11 and 17 years and using them to participate in hostilities.