Saudis Intercept Yemeni Missile Over Kingdom's Southwest – Reports

22:11 GMT, 17 August 2018

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Saudi missile defenses struck Friday the projectile down as it was approaching the provincial capital Najran, according to the Riyadh-based Al-Ekhbariya television channel.

Sputnik

The incident is reportedly the latest in a string of missile launches by the rebels from Yemeni territory targeting different cities in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has blamed frequent rocket launches on Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has been mired in a war for years. A Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf nations has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at the request of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi since March 2015.

Houthis to Saudi-Led Arab Coalition: 'From Now On, Your Capitals No Longer Safe'

27 July 2018, 14:07 GMT

Last week, Yemeni media reported that the Saudi-led coalition's warplanes had struck a school bus at a busy market in northern Yemeni province of Saada, a stronghold of Houthi rebels, who are engaged in violent conflict with the government supported by the coalition. The strike reportedly killed at least 50 people and wounded another 77. Over half of the killed were children under the age of 15.

For the past several years, Yemen has been in the grip of a violent conflict between the government forces of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi movement. The war has caused a nationwide humanitarian catastrophe and claimed lives of thousands of people.