Yemen rebels fire ballistic missile at royal palace in Saudi capital
● Iran denies supply of weapons ● Second attack in just two months
Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Shiite rebels intercepted a missile fired over southern Riyadh yesterday, with claims the weapon had targeted the royal palace in the kingdom’s capital.
It was the second time in as many months that a rebel projectile had reached as far inside the kingdom as Riyadh.
The Yemeni rebels said they launched a ballistic missile to target Yamama Palace in Riyadh.
King Salman chairs weekly government meetings from the palace and receives dignitaries and heads of state from around the world.
The coalition statement, carsiles ried by Saudi state TV, said the missile was fired by the rebels, known as Houthis.
State TV said no damage was caused by the intercepted missile. Residents of Riyadh posted videos on social media showing a small cloud of smoke in the sky after hearing a loud explosion.
In Yemen, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam said the group targeted the Yamama Palace.
He tweeted that a ballistic “Volcano H-2” missile was used in the attack.
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, last week displayed what she said was “undeniable” evidence that Iran was supplying the Houthis with missiles.
The US has backed the Saudi-led coalition in its war in Yemen.
Iran rejected the allegations and has repeatedly denied arming the rebels.
The Houthis say their misthe are produced in Yemen, which is awash with weapons.
The Houthis targeted Saudi Arabia’s international airport in Riyadh on November 4, with Saudi Air Defence saying that attack had been intercepted.
However, a New York Times analysis of photos and videos from the attack suggested air defenses may have missed the projectile and the warhead struck near its intended target.
Saudi Arabia has the Usmade Patriot surface-to-air anti-missile system, which President Donald Trump credited for bringing the November 4 missile down.
In the almost three years the Saudi-led coalition has waged war with Yemen’s rebels, dozens of other missiles have been fired by the Houthis across the border into Saudi Arabia, reaching as far as some border towns.
There have been casualties among local residents in those attacks.
Earlier this month, the Houthis claimed they fired a missile at an under-construction nuclear plant in the United Arab Emirates, which is part of the Saudi coalition.
The UAE denied that a missile had been fired.
The coalition tightened its blockade of yemen in response to the November 4 attack, saying it wanted to halt the smuggling of weapons from Iran. But the UN warned the restrictions could trigger “the largest famine the world has seen for many decades”.
Commercial shipments of food and fuel are still blocked despite the coalition later easing its restrictions, allowing humanitarian aid to be delivered to Houthi-controlled ports and airports.