Riyadh: Saudi forces intercepted a missile launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Al Houthi militia towards Riyadh, the Arab coalition fighting to uphold legitimacy in Yemen said.
The spokesperson for the Coalition Forces to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said that the air forces intercepted three ballistic missiles fired towards the capital Riyadh, Najran and Jizan.
The missiles were fired with the aim of targeting civilian areas, but the Saudi royal air defence was able to intercept them, Colonel Turki Al Maliki said late on Wednesday. Debris fell on residential areas, but no injuries or damages were reported as the statement was issued, he added.
“This hostile act by the Houthi militia supported by Iran proves the continued involvement of the Iranian regime in supporting the Houthi armed group and providing it with qualitative capabilities in clear and blatant defiance of UN Resolutions 2216 and 2231 in order to threaten the Saudi, regional and international security,” he said.
“The firing of ballistic missiles at populated cities and villages is contrary to international humanitarian law.”
Loud explosions were heard in the sky above the capital on Wednesday night, reports said.
The attack on Wednesday marked the fourth time in five months that missiles have flown over Riyadh.
Earlier, the spokesman for the Arab Coalition, Col. Turki Al Maliki, said that at 7.40am local time, air defence systems were able to detect an unidentified object in the direction of Abha International Airport and was dealt with accordingly.
Saudi Arabia last month said it intercepted seven ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh and other cities by Al Houthis, the biggest such barrage since the kingdom went to war against them in March 2015 to uphold the legitimacy of the internationally recognised government of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly blamed Iran for supplying projectiles for rebel missile attacks, a charge Tehran rejects.
Al Maliki said that after examining the debris of the object, specialists of the joint coalition forces said it was found to be a hostile Al Houthi aircraft with Iranian characteristics and specifications that were trying to target the airport protected under international humanitarian law.
