Saudi-led coalition intercepts incoming Houthi missile

SANAA, Yemen (AA) - The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Thursday that it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by Houthi rebels towards Saudi Arabia.

Coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki said the missile was fired towards Jizan in southwestern Saudi Arabia, according the official Saudi Press Agency, citing a statement.

Earlier on Thursday, the coalition also announced that it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi booby-trapped drone launched towards southern Saudi Arabia, while the rebel group claimed that it had successfully targeted a facility of the Saudi Aramco oil company in Jeddah city with a missile.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat in Ankara