Saudi intercepts missile fired towards Yanbu

Saudi air defences intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen towards the Red Sea coastal city of Yanbu in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Saudi coalition said.

Coalition spokesperson Colonel Turki al-Maliki said the projectile was launched at 4:11am by Houthi militias and deliberately targeted civilian areas.

Al-Maliki argued the firing of missiles at a time when the United Nations special envoy to Yemen was in Sana’a showed the indifference of the Houthis and the Iranian regime, which Saudi Arabia and the US say is supplying missile expertise and components to the group.

The attack coincides with an offensive supported by the Saudi-led coalition to retake Yemen’s Houthi-held port city of Hodeidah.

Read: Saudi-led coalition closes in on Yemeni port city of Hodeidah

In an update on Monday, UAE state news agency WAM reported that fighter jets and artillery of the Saudi coalition, backed by the UAE Armed Forces, targeted Houthi militias in Al Hussainya, Zubaid, Tahita and parts of Hayes district.

Dozens of Houthis were killed by the air raids and clashes with the Joint Yemeni Resistance Forces on the Red Sea Coast, bringing the death toll to more than 140 over the last two days, WAM said.

Yemeni Resistance forces continue to advance towards Hodeidah Airport and its strategic port, according to the report.

Saudi Arabia has been the target of more than 120 ballistic missile attacks since entering the Yemen civil war in 2015 as part of the coalition.

Read: Saudi intercepts missile fired towards Jizan

Last month, the US Treasury placed five Iranians on its sanctions list for providing ballistic missile expertise to the Houthis.

Read: US sanctions five Iranians for providing Yemen’s Houthis with missile expertise