Saudi coalition says it intercepted Houthi drones and missiles bound for Saudi Arabia

The Saudi-led coalition announced on Saturday that they had successfully intercepted and neutralized drone and missile threats originating from the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels directed towards Saudi Arabia. Colonel Turki Al-Maliki, a spokesperson for the Coalition Force, reported that their early surveillance systems had been monitoring and tracking the incoming missile and drone attacks.

Following this, the air defenses of the coalition shot down two drones that were launched by the Houthis towards the Riyadh area, as well as two ballistic missiles that were targeted at the city of Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The Houthis initiated a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in July and have been intensifying their attacks on Saudi cities and shipping since then, intensifying the already high tensions in the Middle East.

In response, Saudi Arabia has retaliated with their own attacks on the group, but has been unable to prevent the Houthis from gaining significant territorial control in Yemen this month. On Friday, the Houthis claimed that Saudi warplanes had conducted 14 airstrikes and missile attacks across four different regions in Yemen, including Taiz, Amran, Marib, and Saada, during the previous 24 hours.

According to the United Nations, the ongoing escalation of conflict in Yemen has resulted in over 122,000 people being displaced from their homes. Between 6 August and 18 September, the conflict has claimed the lives of 674 people and left 2,998 others injured, according to the UN's latest report.