19 July 2018•Update: 19 July 2018
By Murad Erifi
SANAA
Saudi air defenses on Thursday intercepted a missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebel group into the kingdom’s southwestern Jizan region, according to Saudi television news channel Al-Ekhbariya.
The broadcaster did not provide any additional details, while the Saudi authorities have yet to comment on the report.
The Houthi-run Al-Masirah television channel, however, appeared to confirm the attack, reporting that Houthi fighters had targeted Jizan’s regional airport with a “ballistic missile”.
According to a Saudi-led military coalition cobbled together in 2015 to fight the Houthis, the rebel group has fired a total of 161 missiles into Saudi territory since the conflict began almost four years ago.
Impoverished Yemen has been wracked by conflict since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.
The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a wide-ranging military campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains and shoring up Yemen’s pro-Saudi government.
Riyadh accuses the Houthis of serving as proxies for Shia Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch-foe in the region.
