Saudi intercepts missile fired from Yemen

Saudi Arabia’s air defences intercepted a missile fired by Houthi militias from Yemen towards the southern city of Jizan on Tuesday, a coalition spokesperson said.

Colonel Turki al-Maliki told Saudi Press Agency the missile was fired at 12:40pm from Yemen’s Saada governorate.

He said it deliberately targeted civilian and populated areas.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The Houthis said earlier on Tuesday that the missile was fired at the King Faisal military base in Jizan.

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.

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

Read: Saudi intercepts missiles over Riyadh

Two further projectiles were intercepted after being fired towards the southern city of Najran the previous Sunday and several others were reported last month.

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.

The Saudi coalition said last month that 119 rockets and 6,6259 projectiles had been fired across the border into the kingdom as of April 16.

Saudi Civil Defence tested a warning siren in Riyadh and other provinces on Thursday as a sign of the recent increase in attacks.

On the ground in Yemen, forces backed by the coalition are advancing on the Houthi-held Hodeidah port city.

Saudi Arabia has accused the Houthis of using the port to smuggle arms.

Read: Saudi-led coalition advances on Yemen’s Hodeidah port