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World

Saudi Arabia intercepts six Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Taif and Yanbu, coalition says

The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted six Houthi ballistic missiles fired toward Taif and the Yanbu area on Thursday, as the Houthis claimed strikes on Riyadh and Aramco facilities.

By Sarah Whitfield · · 2 min read

Saudi Arabia intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Thursday, thwarting attacks on the southern province of Taif and the Yanbu area on the Red Sea, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said Saudi air defences stopped the missiles, adding in a statement: “Any escalation and violations by the terrorist Houthi militia will be dealt with firmly.”

The Houthis later claimed they had launched missile and drone attacks on what they described as “a sensitive target” in the Saudi capital Riyadh and on Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu. There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of an attack on Riyadh, and it was not clear whether there was any damage or casualties in either Taif or Yanbu.

Earlier on Thursday, Saudi civil defence authorities issued alerts warning of potential danger in the holy city of Mecca, the northwestern province of Tabuk, the Red Sea areas of Jeddah and Yanbu, and the southern area of Taif, later saying the threat had passed and the cities were out of danger.

A Greek security source told Reuters that an air-defence system operated by Greek military personnel in Saudi Arabia intercepted a ballistic missile and a drone on Thursday in the wider Yanbu region, home to major oil refining facilities. The source said the Greek Patriot system launched two missiles.

The Riyadh-backed government’s forces had also repelled overnight Houthi attacks on a key supply route to the southern port city of Aden, where the internationally recognised administration is based, government sources said.

The strikes are the latest escalation since July, when renewed hostilities shattered a years-long truce and pulled Yemen into the wider Middle East war. Since then the Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia and, nearly two weeks ago, seized the whole of Yemen’s western coast down to the Bab el-Mandeb waterway.

Sources

More on this topic: all World stories

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