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Saudi Arabia Intercepts Houthi Ballistic Missile Targeted Riyadh

Saudi air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the capital Riyadh on Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition said, the latest attack by a Yemeni group that could escalate a proxy war between the kingdom and regional rival Tehran.

There was no immediate report of casualties or damages. The Iran-aligned Houthi movement said the missile targeted the royal court at al-Yamama palace, where a meeting of Saudi leaders was under way, describing the attack as a new chapter in the conflict.

The Saudi-led coalition said the missile was directed at residential areas and there were no damages, the Saudi state news agency SPA reported.

Quoting a statement from the coalition, SPA said Iranian- made missiles were a threat to regional and international security, and accused the Houthis of using humanitarian entry points to import missiles from Saudi Arabia’s arch-foe Iran.

“Coalition forces confirm intercepting an Iranian-Houthi missile targeting (the) south of Riyadh. There are no reported casualties at this time,” the government-run Center for International Communication wrote on its Twitter account.

Saudi palaces, military and oil facilities are within range of such missiles fired from Yemen, the Houthis said, according to a statement distributed via their television channel al-Masirah.

 

 

Read full article by Katie Paul and Rania El Gamal on Reuters, December 19, 2017

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