Saudi air defenses intercept missile fired from Yemen

By Ahmed al-Masri

RIYADH (AA) - Saudi air defenses have intercepted a missile fired into Saudi territory by Yemen’s Shia Houthi militia, the kingdom’s official Saudi Press Agency reported Friday.

"Saudi Arabia’s Royal Air Defense Forces successfully intercepted a missile fired Friday morning from Yemeni territory by the Houthi militia towards the [Saudi] city of Najran," the news agency quoted a Saudi military commander as saying.

"The missile was destroyed in the air without causing damage," he added.

Last November, Saudi air defenses intercepted a missile fired from Yemen at the city of Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Impoverished Yemen has been wracked by chaos since late 2014, when the Houthis overran capital Sanaa and other parts of the country.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a major air campaign aimed at reversing Houthi military gains and shoring up Yemen’s embattled Saudi-backed government.