Yemen rebels launch missiles at Saudi Arabian capital

Saudi Arabia announced that it successfully intercepted a ballistic missile near the capital Riyadh launched by Houthi rebels from Yemen.

Location of Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Graphics: BBC.

"Tonight, a ballistic missile was launched from Yemeni territory towards the kingdom," the SPA news agency quoted Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition, as saying late on November 4. "The missile targeted civilians, densely populated areas."

Saudi Arabia launched an interceptor missile. There was a loud explosion and fragments of the missile fell on King Khalid International Airport, north of the capital Riyadh. Saudi Arabian authorities reported no casualties in the incident.

Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed to have launched a missile at King Khalid Airport, using a Burkan H2 missile, via Al-Masirah TV channel.

Civil aviation authorities said the airport was operating normally, with no flights cancelled. According to residents, security forces had blocked some roads.

The attack underscores the growing threat posed by the Houthis to Saudi Arabia. Riyadh is leading a military coalition against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have seized the capital Sanaa and other areas in the country’s civil war.

Houthis and forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh have fired dozens of missiles at Saudi Arabia over the past two and a half years, all of which Riyadh intercepted using US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile systems.

According to VNE