Saudi forces destroy two boats filled with explosives targetting Jazan port

Saudi forces destroyed two Houthi boats filled with explosives that were headed towards the port of the city of Jazan on Sunday.

The two remote control-operated boats were spotted at 4.45am by the Saudi Royal Navy forces, confirmed Colonel Turki Al-Malki, the spokesperson of the Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting in Yemen.

They were intercepted and destroyed, causing “minor damage”, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Al Malki stressed that the leadership of the joint forces of the coalition will “strike with an iron hand all those involved in terrorist acts that threaten the safety of the security of citizens and residents and the kingdom’s economic and vital capabilities.”

“Such hostilities can not go by without holding the perpetrators and those involved in planning and implementation accountable for their actions”, he said.

The kingdom first entered the Yemen civil war in 2015 as part of a coalition to support ousted President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against the Houthis.

Since then it has witnessed numerous missile attacks by the Houthis, especially in areas bordering with Yemen such as Jazan and Najran.

Such attacks have killed more than 110 Saudi citizens and residents since 2015, the Saudi coalition said last month.

The coalition also said at the time that the number of ballistic missiles fired towards the kingdom was nearly 200.

Read more: Saudi says more than 110 citizens, residents killed by missiles from Yemen to date

Saudi Arabia and the United Stated have accused Iran for providing the Houthis with missile components, although Tehran has denied any role in the matter.

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