Saudi Arabia intercepts 3 missiles over Riyadh, Jizan

By Mohamed Fahd

RIYADH (AA) - Saudi Arabian air defenses on Wednesday intercepted three missiles fired from Yemeni territory, including two that were shot down over capital Riyadh and a third over the southwestern Jizan region, according to Saudi media reports.

“Our air-defense systems intercepted two ballistic missiles over Riyadh and a third that was fired toward Jizan,” the Al-Ekhbariya television channel reported.

The Al-Masira television channel, meanwhile, which is run by Yemen’s Shia Houthi rebel group, appeared to confirm that Houthi fighters had fired at least one missile at what it described as an “air-defense facility” in Jizan.

According to the same broadcaster, Houthi fighters also targeted Riyadh’s Dry Port and other economic targets in the Saudi capital.

Wednesday’s missile barrage was hardly the first of its kind.

On Sunday, Saudi air defenses intercepted two missiles fired from Yemen above the kingdom’s southwestern Najran region.

According to official Saudi figures, 31 missiles have been intercepted since Mar. 26 while a total of 135 missiles have been shot down since the kingdom launched its military campaign in Yemen in 2015.

Impoverished Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa, which remains in the rebel group’s hands until today.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies -- who accuse the Shia Houthis of serving as Iranian proxies -- launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.