Saudi Arabia said Saturday it intercepted a missile attack over its capital and bomb-laden drones targeting a southern province; the latest in a series of airborne assaults it has blamed on Yemen’s rebel Houthis.
The attack comes amid sharply rising tensions in the Middle East; a day after a mysterious explosion struck an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman. That blast renewed concerns about ship security in the strategic waterways that saw a spate of suspected Iranian attacks on oil tankers in 2019.
Brig. Gen. Al-Malki said: “Joint Coalition Forces have intercepted and destroyed Saturday night and Sunday morning. ballistic missile toward (Riyadh) launched by the terrorist and bomb-laden UAVs toward the Kingdom launched deliberately and systematically to target civilians and civilian objects in the Southern Region, Jazan and Khamis Mushayt.
“The terrorist Houthi militia is purposely escalating the deliberate, hostile, terrorist targeting of civilians and civilian objects using ballistic missiles and bomb-laden UAVs.
“The Royal Saudi Air Defense and Royal Saudi Air Force have exhibited great competence in countering and thwarting these threats through monitoring launches in Houthi-controlled areas and intercepting and destroying the terrorist threats.
“The Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will continue to implement all necessary precautions to safeguard civilians and civilian objects, and all required operational procedures to stop such terrorist acts and aggression attempts, and appropriately handle the sources of these threats in accordance with the Customary International Humanitarian Law.”
Meanwhile, the Civil Defense teams in Riyadh responded to scattered debris of ballistic missiles launched by terrorists.
The official spokesman of the General Directorate of Civil Defense Lt. Col. Mohammed Al-Hammadi stated; that Civil Defense teams in Riyadh have responded Saturday night to the scattered debris of the ballistic missile.
furthermore, the coalition said it intercepted six Huthi drones targeting the kingdom, including the southern cities of Khamis Mushait and Jizan.
Some of the scattered debris resulted in material damage to one house; no human injuries or deaths were sustained. The incident was dealt with in accordance with procedures and plans adopted for such cases.
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a warning to Americans; calling on them to “stay alert in case of additional future attacks.”
Moreover, Flight-tracking websites showed a number of flights scheduled to land at Riyadh’s international airport; diverted or delayed in the hour after the attack.