Saudi Arabia shoots down drones and missiles aimed at Jizan

The Organisation of Islamic Co-operation condemns the targeting of civilians in the kingdom

A screen grab from a video posted by the Saudi Press Agency shows Saudi Arabian jets shooting down a Houthi drone. SPA

Saudi Arabian air defences on Wednesday intercepted and destroyed two booby-trapped drones and four ballistic missiles launched by Houthi militias towards the city of Jizan.

The Arab Coalition said: “We are taking operational measures to target sources of threat in accordance with international humanitarian laws.”

The Saudi Arabian air force has been using its fleet of F-15 fighter-bombers to target drone storage sites in Yemen. Experts say Iran smuggles the devices into the country in parts and the Houthis then re-assemble them with Iranian help, and launch them at civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

After the most recent Houthi attacks, the secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC), Yousef Al Othaimeen, expressed his strong condemnation of the Houthi militia targeting civilians with ballistic missiles and booby-trapped drones.

He reiterated the OIC's support for all measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to maintain its security and stability and the safety of citizens and residents on its lands.

Saudi Arabia's air force operates F-15s, which are equipped with radar systems capable of detecting small, low-flying drones or even cruise missiles and destroying them with the latest Aim-9X heat-seeking missiles.

Cities and infrastructure in Saudi Arabia are defended by an array of air defence equipment, including the PAC-3 Patriot missile system, a new variant of a 1990s-era system that has been configured to shoot down small, low-flying objects such as drones.

Meanwhile, local Yemeni tribes this month recaptured the strategic district of Al Rahbah in southern Marib from Iran-backed Houthi insurgents.

Fighting between Houthi rebels and tribes backing the Yemeni government intensified in areas between Marib and Al Bayada in northern Yemen, with Yemen’s government taking the fight to the rebels after they launched a major offensive in February to capture the ancient city of Marib, the government’s last northern stronghold in the country.