Saudi intercepts Yemen rebel missile

Saudi Arabia yesterday intercepted a missile fired from rebel-held territory in neighbouring Yemen, where a Riyadh-led coalition is fighting the insurgents, state media said.

The ballistic missile was fired from the northern Yemeni province of Saada towards the southern Saudi city of Najran, but no casualties were reported, said a coalition statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency.

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

Yesterday's attack brings the tally to 162 rebel missiles launched since 2015, according to the coalition, which that year joined the Yemeni government's fight against Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

In 2014, the Huthis 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 Huthis and restore the internationally recognised government to power.

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