Saudi-led coalition intercepts rebel drone from Yemen

By Diana Shalhub

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – The Saudi-led coalition said Saturday it had destroyed an explosives-laden drone launched by Houthi rebels from Yemen towards Saudi Arabia.

A coalition statement said Saudi air defenses shot down a drone fired from Yemen towards the city of Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia, the state news agency SPA reported.

The coalition accused Houthi rebels of “continuing its attempts to attack civilians and civilian targets."

There was no comment from the Houthi group on the report.

Saturday’s attack was the fourth by Houthi rebels against Saudi territories in less than a week.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when the Saudi-led coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the conflict in Yemen has so far claimed the lives of 233,000 people.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara