Saudi Arabia intercepted ‘Houthi missile’ over Riyadh

Saudi Arabia’s air defense forces intercepted a missile over Riyadh on Wednesday, state media reports. Houthi rebels reportedly fired a number of missiles towards a Saudi government building.

The announcement came after three blasts and clouds of smoke were seen in the sky in Riyadh. Snapchat footage taken in Riyadh shows distinctive white and brown clouds of smoke in the sky.

The missile is thought to have been fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen, who a Saudi-led coalition has been bombing since March 2015, when it intervened in support of ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi in an effort to prevent Houthis from maintaining the capital of Sanaa. 

According to Al Masirah TV, which is run by the Houthis, the missile was aimed at the defense ministry. The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya also reports a Houthi scout drone was intercepted over Abha airport in southern Saudi Arabia, near Najran.

Colonel Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Arab Coalition Forces fighting in Yemen, said that at 7:40 am local time air defense systems detected an object and dealt with it accordingly. After examining the debris, the coalition said it determined it was a Houthi aircraft.

Al Masirah TV also reported the group targeted an Aramco distribution facility in Jizan, in Saudi Arabia.

“The air force announced the execution of air strikes with the Qasef-1 aircraft on Aramco in Jizan,” it said on its Twitter page. The group unveiled the Qasef-1 drone last year.

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