Saudi Arabia intercepts 2 Houthi missiles heading to Makkah, Jeddah

Saudi Arabia said yesterday that its Air Defence Forces intercepted two ballistic missiles at dawn yesterday; the first over Taif, heading for the city of Makkah, and the other over Jeddah, fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, local media reported.

Saudi’s Al-Arabiya TV channel said the Saudi air defence forces were able to destroy the ballistic missiles.

Reuters quoted a Saudi coalition spokesman as saying that the “Royal Saudi Defence Forces spotted aerial targets flying through restricted areas in the provinces of Jeddah and Taif and dealt with them as required by the situation”.

In July 2017 Saudi Arabia accused the Houthis of targeting Islam’s holy city of Makkah with a missile.

READ: Iran denies ties to Houthi drone attack on Saudi oil installations

Saudi Arabia announced last week that drones attacked two oil pumping stations in Afif and Dawadmi provinces in Riyadh.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Riyadh is leading a coalition of Arab states which began launching air strikes in Yemen in March 2015 to restore to power internationally backed President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was driven from the capital in 2014 by Houthi fighters and militias allied with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Saleh severed ties with the Houthis on 2 December; he was killed by the group two days later.

READ: US says Houthis reneging on Yemen peace deal