Saudi forces intercept Houthi drone fired towards civilian areas in Asir

Saudi air forces intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone targetting civilian areas in Asir region, the coalition announced on Monday.

Colonel Turki Al-Malki, the official spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, stated that the Royal Saudi Air Defence forces detected an “unidentified object” headed towards civilians in the Asir region at 8.50pm local time on Sunday.

“They were destroyed according to the rules of engagement,” he was quoted as saying by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

He also confirmed that “no injuries or damages were reported” as a result of the interception of the drone.

“The continuous attempts by the Iran-backed terrorist Houthi militia to target civilians through UAV and remote-controlled explosive speedboat terrorist, hostile attacks emanating from Hodeida Governorate specifically in a time that the coalition command is adhering to the ceasefire in Hodeida as defined by the Stockholm agreement, seeks to provoke coalition forces into conducting military operations in Hodeida,” Al-Malki said.

He reaffirmed the commitment of the coalition to supporting the political efforts spearheaded by the special envoy of the secretary-general for Yemen.

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

Last week, five civilians including a woman and a child were injured in the city of Khamis Mushait after Saudi forces intercepted two missiles fired by the Houthis.

Read: Five injured, property damaged after Saudi intercepts two drones fired by Houthis