Saudi forces shoot down Houthi ballistic missile

JEDDAH: Saudi Air Defense Forces shot down a ballistic missile fired by Houthi militias from Yemen toward Saudi Arabia Friday night, Arab Coalition command said.

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the coalition said the missile was intercepted and destroyed above an unpopulated area in a place called Al-Rin at about 8:45 p.m.

“Coalition Air Forces retaliated immediately, hitting the sites of the missile's launching pads,” said the SPA report.

Reuters earlier quoted a Yemeni news agency as saying the Iran-backed Houthis had fired a Burkan-1 missile toward Riyadh, just ahead of US President Donald



Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia.

The Arab Coalition statement did not say if it was the same missile that was shot down.

Houthis have repeatedly fired missiles and rockets toward Saudi Arabia since the coalition threw its support to the UN-recognized government of Yemen President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi amid attempts by Houthis and loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to seize control of the country.

Many of the rockets and missiles have been intercepted by Saudi Patriot missiles deployed along the Kingdom’s southern borders with Yemen. Some have hit civilian homes, causing deaths and destruction.