The Shiite Houthi rebels, currently at war with the Saudi-led government coalition, said they fired a missile Friday targeting a military camp in the southwestern Saudi city of Najran.
Saudi Arabia claims that the kingdom’s air defences intercepted the ballistic missile over Najran, while the Houthis announced that the ‘successful’ firing hit its target with ‘high accuracy.’
The kingdom’s official news agency SPA said that the only destruction was ‘minor damage’ to the private property of a Saudi citizen due to missile parts that dispersed once the missile was intercepted, and added that there were no deaths.
The Houthi rebels later said they fired another missile targeting Saudi-backed forces along Yemen’s western coast.
The Houthi have previously fired missiles targeting the Saudi mainland, including the capital, Riyadh, the city’s international airport and a royal palace – all of which were intercepted by Saudi forces.
The coalition backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government and has been at war with the Iran-backed Houthis since March 2015. The U.S.-backed coalition has repeatedly accused Saudi rival Iran of arming the rebels.
In December, the United States said it has ‘undeniable’ evidence that Tehran is violating international law.
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley showed off missile parts to cameras at a military base near Washington, saying the projectile was supplied by Iran and launched by Yemen’s Houthis at the airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.
Iran dismissed it as a ‘fake and fabricated’ claim. Tehran denies arming Yemen’s rebels in the war with Saudi Arabia.
The nearly three-year stalemated war in Yemen has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced 3 million, damaged critical infrastructure, fuelled a cholera outbreak and pushed the Arab world’s poorest country to the brink of famine.
DAILY MAIL
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