DUBAI, Sept 10 (Reuters) – Yemen’s Houthi group said it had attacked an “important target” in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Thursday using a ballistic missile and drones.
A Saudi-led coalition, which has been at war with the Iran-aligned group since 2015, did not confirm an attack on Riyadh, but said it had intercepted and destroyed a number of ballistic missiles and explosive drones launched towards the kingdom on Thursday.
Yahya Sarea, a spokesman for the Houthi military, said the group used a Dul-Faqqar ballistic missile and three Samad3 drones to attack an important target in Riyadh, without giving more details. The group have attacked Riyadh several times before.
“The attacks are a response to the enemy’s permanent escalation and its continuing blockade against our country,” Sarea said in a statement posted on Twitter.
[aesop_image img=”https://kayhanlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019-09-17T191607Z_1829542554_RC167A191840_RTRMADP_3_SAUDI-ARAMCO-HOUTHIS.jpg” panorama=”off” credit=”Missiles and drone aircraft are seen on display at an exhibition at an unidentified location in Yemen in this undated handout photo released by the Houthi Media Office on September 17, 2019. REUTERS./” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]
He promised more attacks if Saudi Arabia “continues its aggression” against Yemen.
A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition said Houthi forces had launched the missiles and drones at civilian targets in Saudi Arabia, without giving more details.
The Houthis took over the Yemeni capital Sanaa and most cities in 2014 after ousting the Saudi-backed government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The Western-backed coalition that Saudi Arabia leads intervened to try to restore Hadi to power but the war, which has killed 100,000 people, has been stuck in a stalemate for years.
The conflict has led to what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli and Lisa Barrington, writing by Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Gareth Jones and Hugh Lawson)
