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Yemen civil war: Saudi-led coalition intercepts ballistic missile over Riyadh | Yemen civil war: Saudi-led coalition intercepts ballistic missile over Riyadh |
(about 9 hours later) | |
Saudi Arabia has intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels over the Kingdom’s capital, Riyadh. | |
The rebels said the intended target was the kingdom’s Yamama Palace and declared a “new chapter” in its conflict with the Saudis who have led attempts to restore ousted President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to power in Yemen. | |
The announcement of the attempted attack was carried by the Saudi state TV as residents of the kingdom posted videos on social media showing a small cloud of smoke in the sky. | |
The report said no damage was caused by the intercepted missile. | The report said no damage was caused by the intercepted missile. |
In Yemen, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the spokesman for the Houthi rebels tweeted that a ballistic “Volcano H-2” missile was used in the attack. | |
It is the second missile attack fired by the Houthis to target Riyadh since 4 November. | |
Last month's attack targeted the Saudi capital's airport but was also successfully intercepted. | |
The Yamama Palace is where the Saudi monarch, King Salman, receives visiting foreign dignitaries and top Saudi officials. | The Yamama Palace is where the Saudi monarch, King Salman, receives visiting foreign dignitaries and top Saudi officials. |
The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting in Yemen since March 2015 to defeat the Iran-backed Houthis and reinstate the internationally recognised government of Mr Hadi who was forced into exile by the rebel fighters in March 2015. | |
Since then UN efforts to negotiate a peace deal have failed and bitter fighting has continued. | |
Over 5,000 civilians, more than 20 per cent of them children, are estimated to have been killed in the fighting, and almost 50,000 people are believed to have been injured. | |
The civil war has now been underway for almost three years, destroying infrastructure and hitting food, medicine and fuel supplies and creating what the UN has described as a “catastrophic” humanitarian situation. | |
The Associated Press contributed to this report |