Manama: The Saudi led coalition, battling Yemen's Houthi rebels, intercepted and destroyed a missile towards the southwestern border city of Najran, the Saudi state news agency (SPA) reported citing official spokesman.
Arab Coalition Spokesperson Col. Turki Al-Maliki said that the ballistic missile was launched from Yemen's rebel-controlled governorate of Saada towards the city Najran on Saturday morning.
Some civilians were slightly injured due to the falling of the intercepted missile’s debris, he said.
The spokesman added that the coalition will take measures in accordance with international law to destroy Houthi capabilities that continue to threaten innocent civilians.
The strikes are the latest Houthi attack against Saudi, following sporadic missile attacks on various locations in the country including Abha airport. The Houthis have launched hundreds of missiles and drones across the border, mostly at nearby military and civilian targets but also at Riyadh. Earlier in March, Saudi Air Defense Forces intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched toward civilian targets in the cities of Riyadh and Jazan.
The Iran-backed militia have continued to target civilians and residential areas with ballistic missiles and drones despite a unilateral ceasefire declared by the coalition in April to enable Yemen to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
The Kingdom has intercepted a total of 312 ballistic missiles fired from Yemen so far.
The Houthi rebels has been fighting against the UN-recognized government for control of Yemen for the last five years. Southern separatists are also a major faction in the conflict, which has killed over 1,00,000 people since the Houthis swept south and took control of vast swaths of Yemen including the capital Sanaa in 2015.
The Western-backed coalition intervened in Yemen’s war in 2015 to dethrone the Houthis and restore the internationally-recognized government in exile.
Earlier this year, Saudi Arabian Military Industries said it was working on developing a new counter-drone system to protect the Kingdom's vital infrastructure and military bases.
