One dead, several wounded after Saudi Arabia 'intercepts Yemen missile'

Saudi Arabia said it shot down a rebel missile, with shrapnel leaving a Yemeni resident dead and 11 wounded.
2 min read
09 August, 2018
Saudi Arabia says 165 rebel missiles have been launched from Yemen since 2015 [Getty]

Saudi Arabia shot down a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels on Wednesday, with debris killing a Yemeni man and wounding 11 others, a Riyadh-led coalition fighting the insurgents said.

The ballistic missile was fired from the northern Yemeni province of Amran towards the southern Saudi city of Jizan, said a coalition statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency.

"Shrapnel from the intercepted missile scattered over residential areas, leaving a Yemeni resident killed and 11 other civilians wounded," the coalition said.

The Iran-backed Houthis have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, which Riyadh usually says it intercepts.

Wednesday's attack brings the tally to 165 rebel missiles launched since 2015, according to the coalition, which that year intervened in the Yemeni government's fight against Houthi rebels.

In 2014, the Houthis overran the Yemeni capital and seized control of much of northern Yemen as well as a string of ports on the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies intervened in the conflict the following March, aiming to push back the Houthis and restore the internationally recognised government to power.

Riyadh accuses its regional rival Tehran of supplying the Houthis with ballistic missiles, a charge Iran denies.

The war in the impoverished country has left more than 13,000 people dead and unleashed what the UN has branded as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.