4 yıl önce

Saudi-led coalition intercepts Houthi missiles, drones

The Saudi-led coalition said the Houthi group had launched the objects at civilian targets in Saudi Arabia.

Reuters

Damage created by debris is seen, after ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Houthi militia fell at a house in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 26, 2018

A Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen has intercepted and destroyed a number of ballistic missiles and explosive drones launched towards the kingdom .

In a statement published on Saudi state news agency SPA on Thursday, a spokesman for the coalition said the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen had launched the objects at civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, without giving more details.

Earlier on Thursday, the Houthis said they had attacked an "important target" in the Saudi capital Riyadh using a ballistic missile and drones.

Yahya Sarea, a spokesman for the Houthi military, said the group used a Dul Faqqar ballistic missile and three Samad3 drones to attack an important target in Riyadh, without giving more details. The group have attacked Riyadh several times before.

"The attacks are a response to the enemy's permanent escalation and its continuing blockade against our country," Sarea said in a statement posted on Twitter.

He promised more attacks if Saudi Arabia "continues its aggression" against Yemen.

Protracted war

The Houthis took over the Yemeni capital Sanaa and most cities in 2014 after ousting the Saudi-backed government of Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The Western-backed coalition that Saudi Arabia leads intervened to try to restore Hadi to power but the war, which has killed 100,000 people, has been stuck in a stalemate for years.

The conflict has led to what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

SOURCE: Reuters