Saudi-led coalition downs Houthi missile fired towards Najran

The Saudi-led coalition on Thursday evening intercepted a missile and an explosive-laden drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi group towards the kingdom’s southern region close to the Yemeni border, Saudi state TV reported on Friday, Reuters reports.

Yemen has been locked in conflict since 2014 when the Iran-aligned Houthis seized Sanaa, the capital, and then much of the country’s north. Fighting escalated in March 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition intervened to restore the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The missile was headed in the direction of the city of Najran when it was shot down, Saudi television said, citing coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki.

READ: Saudi-backed Yemen government dismiss Houthi claims of advances in Bayda as ‘lies’