Saudi forces intercept two missiles from Yemen

Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles that were launched from Yemen on Tuesday, local daily Arab News reported.

Sources told the paper that the missiles – allegedly fired by Houthis – were destroyed “above the Yemeni city of Maarib.”

They were reportedly targeting the city of Jazan in the kingdom.

This is the second time this week that the kingdom has intercepted ballistic missiles fired from Yemen.

On Sunday, the Saudi military destroyed a missile targeting the city of Taif. While officials said it caused no damage, its debris reportedly landed just 40km away from Makkah.

Two missiles were also fired from Yemen late on Sunday targeting a US warship patrolling the Red Sea off the coast of the country. US Navy ship destroyer USS Mason detected the missiles, which impacted the water before reaching the ship. There was no damage to the ship.

In a statement, the Saudi embassy in the US criticised the incident, saying: “The terrorist act jeopardises international maritime security and is a systematised attack carried out by an Iran-backed militia targeting commercial marine at the Strait of Bab el-Mandab.

“Several other recent acts by the Houthi-Saleh alliance are in conflict with international efforts – including those of the UN Special Envoy – to reach a political solution and to abide by UN Security Council resolution 2216.

“Those acts include the attack on a UAE vessel carrying humanitarian aid on October 1; continual aggression on the Saudi border; and the launching of ballistic missiles toward Saudi territories, the last of which was on October 9, toward Makkah, which are in violation of the commitments made by the Yemeni people at the National Dialogue Conference.”

Also read: Saudi-led coalition to target Houthi forces after UAE ship attack

The Saudi-led Arab coalition’s intervention in Yemen began in March 2015 in a bid to restore its government to power by fighting the Iran-allied Houthis, who seized power in 2014.