Rocket war: Yemen rebels and Saudis exchange missile fire

The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen threatened severe reprisals against rebels in the neighbouring country, after they fired a fourth ballistic missile in as many days towards Saudi territory late Monday night.

A rocket fired towards the border city of Jazan was intercepted by Saudi Arabia and the missile launcher in Yemen was later destroyed.

The kingdom has deployed Patriot missile batteries designed to counter tactical ballistic missiles.

Air defences shot down another missile fired towards Jazan on Monday morning.

On Friday, the coalition said a ballistic missile had been intercepted and that a second missile struck a desert area east of Najran city.

Those attacks came after a local source reported that on 13 September another missile struck a desert area of the kingdom's south, causing no damage.

Three civilians, two of them from India, died on Saturday when shellfire from Yemen struck the border city of Najran.

Shaky ceasefire

All these attacks, as well as fighting on the ground in Yemen, came despite a seven-day ceasefire in conjunction with peace talks in Switzerland.

The talks between Yemen's government and Zaydi-Shia Houthi rebels concluded on Sunday without a major breakthrough.

Foreign Minister Abdel Malak al-Mekhlafi, head of the Yemeni government negotiating team, said the much-violated ceasefire would be extended for seven days after its expiry on Monday.

Yemen conflict timeline [click to enlarge]

"The coalition command made it clear that while it is keen to deal positively with the Yemeni government's request for an extension of the truce, the continuation of the Houthi militias in their absurdity will push the command of the coalition to take harsh measures to deter such acts," the Saudi-led bloc said.

Rebels and rockets

The Houthi rebels are allied with elite troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

On Sunday a spokesman for the rebels vowed to intensify missile attacks on Saudi targets.

Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman said "300 Saudi military and vital targets" had been chosen.

The rebels and their allies still have "about 60 to 70 missiles, including Tochka missiles", Yemeni army sources say, despite coalition claims to have neutralised their ballistic capabilities.

Houthi-controlled Saba news agency confirmed they fired "a Qaher-1 ballistic missile" Monday evening.

Coalition warplanes and troops have been supporting anti-rebel forces in support of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

More than 80 people, most of them soldiers and border guards, have been killed in shelling and cross-border skirmishes in the kingdom's south since coalition operations began in Yemen.