Saudi-led coalition destroys two explosives-laden drones – state TV

The Saudi-led coalition said it has intercepted and destroyed two explosives-laden drones launched by Yemen's Houthis towards the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, state TV reported.

The coalition, which intervened in Yemen in March 2015, has often retaliated to cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia with air strikes in Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen also said that it destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile and a launchpad in Yemen’s eastern Marib province, local media reported.

A ballistic missile attack planned by the Houthis against the civilians in Marib was prevented by the coalition forces, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted a statement by the Arab coalition.

READ MORE: Yemen's Houthis warn of 'harsher military attacks' on Saudi Arabia

Drone strikes

Earlier on Thursday, Yemen’s Houthi rebel group said they carried out drone strikes targeting “sensitive and important” sites in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh.

Last month, the Houthis rejected a US ceasefire plan, describing it as a plot to put the war-weary country in a more dangerous situation.

On March 22, Saudi Arabia also proposed a UN-supervised ceasefire, along with the reopening of the airport in Sana’a International Airport and the start of negotiations.

Yemen has been ravaged by violence and instability since 2014, when Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including Sana’a.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises.

Some 30 million people – 80 percent of the population – are in need of humanitarian assistance and protection, according to estimates.

READ MORE: Saudi-led coalition strikes Houthi targets in Yemen's Sanaa