Saudi Forces Down Houthi Ballistic Missile Fired Toward Southwest - Arab Coalition

The Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces on Thursday intercepted and downed a ballistic missile launched by the Yemeni Shia rebel Houthi movement in the direction of the kingdom's southwestern province of Jazan, a spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition, Turki al-Maliki, said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th March, 2021) The Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces on Thursday intercepted and downed a ballistic missile launched by the Yemeni Shia rebel Houthi movement in the direction of the kingdom's southwestern province of Jazan, a spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition, Turki al-Maliki, said.

The Houthi rebels earlier said that they had carried out a missile strike on a facility of the Saudi Aramco oil company in the city of Jeddah. The coalition did not comment on the Jeddah strike, as Aramco has yet to release a statement in that regard.

"This morning, the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces managed to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile that was launched by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia toward Jazan deliberately targeting civilians and civilian facilities," al-Maliki said, as quoted by state-run news agency SPA.

The leadership of the coalition's joint forces is implementing all necessary measures to protect the civilian population in line with international law, the spokesman noted.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi rebels since 2014. The coalition has been conducting an air campaign against the Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015, at the request of Hadi. Over the recent period, the Houthi movement has stepped up attacks against Saudi Arabia.