Houthi drones intercepted
Saudi air defenses also intercepted and destroyed two Houthi-launched ballistic missiles.
Saudi air defenses also intercepted and destroyed two Houthi-launched ballistic missiles.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen’s Houthis said on Saturday it had intercepted drones and ballistic missiles, as the Iran-backed group launched fresh attacks, including on Riyadh, despite international condemnation.
The strikes were the latest in a series of escalating Houthi attacks since July, when renewed hostilities shattered a years-long truce and embroiled Yemen in the wider Middle East war.
The United Nations Security Council earlier condemned escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia by Houthi fighters, noting that the strikes have wounded “civilians, including women and children.”
The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, hitting its tankers, seizing swathes of Yemen’s Red Sea coast vital for oil exports and causing energy prices to jump, while also raining missiles on the kingdom.
A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition said on Saturday its air defenses “intercepted and destroyed two drones launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the Riyadh area.”
Saudi air defenses also intercepted and destroyed two Houthi-launched ballistic missiles targeting Khamis Mushait, a city in the country’s southwest that is home to an air base, the spokesperson said.
Hezam Al-Assad, a member of the Houthi Political Bureau, said on Saturday that “Despite the operation’s strength, scope, and impact, our armed forces view it as merely a small-scale rehearsal for a full-scale escalation.”
Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, denounced the Houthi attacks on Saturday.
“This dangerous escalation constitutes a flagrant violation of the Kingdom’s sovereignty and poses a direct threat to the security and safety of civilians and the stability of the region,” he said in a statement.
Albudaiwi also called on the international community to “adopt a firm stance” to end the attacks and hold the Houthis accountable.
