Saudi intercepts missile fired towards Khamis Mushait

Saudi air defences on Saturday intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen towards the southern city of Khamis Mushait.

Coalition spokesperson colonel Turki al-Malki said Houthi militias fired two missiles from Yemen’s Sa’dah at 6:14pm.

One projectile was intercepted and the other fell in an unpopulated desert area.

Al-Malki said the attack deliberately targeted civilian areas. “No casualties were reported up to the time of this release,” he added.

Saudi Arabia and the United States accuse Iran of providing missile components to the Houthis.

The militant group has stepped up attacks on the neighbouring kingdom in what they say is retaliation for air raids by a Saudi-led coalition fighting them in Yemen.

Last Tuesday, air defences intercepted a missile fired towards the southern city of Jizan.

Read: Saudi intercepts missile fired from Yemen

A series of missiles were also fired towards Riyadh, Jizan and Najran on May 9 but were intercepted by air defences or landed in unpopulated desert areas.

Read: Saudi intercepts five missiles following air strike on Houthi leaders

The kingdom suffered its first casualty from a missile attack in March when an Egyptian resident of Riyadh was hit by debris from three missiles targeting the capital as part of a wider attack also aimed at Najran, Jizan and Khamis Mushait.

Read: UN Security Council condemns Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia and Arab partners including the UAE entered Yemen’s civil war in 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the Houthi movement seized large areas of the country including the capital Sana’a.