Saudi Coalition Says It Intercepted a Houthi Missile Aimed at the Eastern Province
The Saudi-led coalition said air defenses destroyed a ballistic missile headed for the kingdom's oil-rich Eastern Province early Thursday, the third day in a row that missiles have been intercepted over Saudi territory.
The Saudi-led coalition said on Thursday it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi group toward Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, in the third straight day of reported interceptions over Saudi territory.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki wrote on X that air defenses “intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the Eastern Province.” No casualties or damage were reported in the announcement.
Saudi Civil Defense had issued an early warning alert in the Eastern Province, and later said the alert had been lifted in the Eastern Province and in Najran.
Third day of interceptions
The interception followed a similar announcement on Wednesday, when the coalition said it destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile headed toward Taif in western Saudi Arabia. Late Tuesday, falling debris from two intercepted ballistic missiles damaged a building, a construction project and a vehicle in Riyadh, according to Saudi Civil Defense, which reported no casualties in that incident.
The Houthis said earlier this week they had targeted the Ras Tanura refinery in the Eastern Province with a ballistic missile. The group claimed the strike was precise and caused large fires, claims the coalition announcement did not address.
A month of attacks on the kingdom
Saudi Arabia has come under sustained attack this month, according to Agence France-Presse, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport that the news agency described as the kingdom’s deadliest in years. Fighting in Yemen reignited in July after a four-year truce, months into the wider US-Iran conflict, and Tehran has denied involvement after Saudi Arabia accused Iran of encouraging the Houthi escalation.
Saudi Arabia has led a coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government since March 2015, after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and other territory in 2014.
Reporting based on coverage by Agence France-Presse and The Diplomatic Insight.
