Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted cruise missile, 3 drones

In a separate statement, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed another drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi group towards the kingdom’s southern region. (EPA Images pic)ISTANBUL: The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Thursday that it had intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile and three drones over several regions of Saudi Arabia amid escalating aerial attacks on the kingdom, Anadolu Ajansi reported.Spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki announced the interception of the cruise missile over the western Medina region in a statement on X.The statement did not identify who had launched the missile or its intended target and provided no details on casualties or damage.Al-Maliki later said coalition forces had intercepted and destroyed a drone over Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia, without providing details.In a separate statement, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed another drone launched by Yemen’s Houthi group towards the kingdom’s southern region.The coalition had announced earlier on Thursday the interception and destruction of a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.Responding to the earlier announcements, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree denied that the group had carried out any attacks against Saudi Arabia on Thursday.“The Yemeni Armed Forces confirm that they have not carried out any operation targeting Saudi territory today,” said Saree, referring to the group’s forces.There was no immediate further comment from the Houthis on the coalition’s later announcements.On Sept 29, the coalition also accused the Houthis of carrying out a drone attack on the Taibah electricity distribution station in Medina.The attack knocked a transformer out of service but did not disrupt the electricity grid, according to al-Maliki. The facility supplies electricity to the Prophet’s Mosque, one of Islam’s holiest sites.The coalition said at a news conference on Thursday that 19 people had been killed and 364 injured in attacks it attributed to the Houthis targeting Saudi airports.Al-Maliki said King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh had come under 20 attacks since the beginning of October, killing 17 people and injuring 333 between Oct 7 and 11.He said attacks on Abha International Airport had killed two people and injured 28.

Three others were injured in an attack on King Abdullah International Airport in Jazan.Five air… The UN Security Council strongly condemned escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait. (EPA Images pic)UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council issued a joint statement on Thursday condemning the "escalatory" attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia, including "reckless strikes" on Riyadh's airport.The Saudi capital's international airport has been targeted by strikes 20 times since the beginning of the month, with an attack last weekend killing 13 people and wounding more than 300.In a joint statement shared by the Security Council's president, Greece's Evangelos Sekeris, the 15-member UN body "condemned in the strongest terms continued and escalatory Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," as well as "continued Houthi attacks and threats against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab (Strait)."The statement also "affirmed the inherent right of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of self-defence in accordance with international law."Since the airport attack, the Saudi coalition reported Thursday it had intercepted a missile in the region of Medina, one of the holiest cities in Islam.

The Houthis, who have repeatedly said they would spare Islam's holy sites, denied being behind the attack.The Houthis launched a deadly missile attack Thursday on the presidential palace in the Yemeni government's interim capital of Aden, hitting command centres located inside the compound used by government forces and the Saudi-led military coalition that supports them.Yemeni health minister Qasim Buhaibeh said the attack left five people dead and 16 injured "among those working to guard the site and civilian employees".Yemen's civil war – in which Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting the government since 2015 – reignited in September after the collapse of a years-long truce.