Saudis Intercept Missile Fired from Yemen

(Source: New York Times; published Nov. 4, 2017)

SANA, Yemen --- A ballistic missile fired from Yemen came close to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Saturday and was intercepted by the Saudi military over the city’s international airport, the Saudi defense ministry said.

Coming on a day of increasing regional tensions, it was the first time such an attack had come so close to the center of Riyadh in the two years since Saudi Arabia started a war against the Houthi rebel group that toppled Yemen’s government.

Yemen’s Houthi-controlled defense ministry said its forces had targeted the airport with a long-range missile called the Burqan 2H in response to an attack by the Saudi-led coalition on Wednesday that killed 26 people in a hotel and a nearby market.

But the Saudi-led coalition suggested the attack had been ordered by Iran, which it said backs the Houthis.

“This act of aggression against Riyadh proves involvement of one of the terror states supporting the Houthis,” the coalition was quoted as saying in a tweet from Al Hadath, a Saudi-run news channel. (

Several hours after the missile attack, the Yemeni capital, Sana, was hit by the worst barrage of Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in more than a year.

About 12 strikes were heard hitting the defense ministry downtown and other targets mostly on the city outskirts. The exchange of fire took place on a day when the region was on edge over the growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. (end of excerpt)

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