Saudi Arabia intercepts ballistic missile over capital

[hadi123]

Yemen's air force targeted King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Saturday with a ballistic missile, according to Yemen's Houthi-controlled Defense Ministry.

But the missile was intercepted over northeast Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense said in a statement carried on Saudi-backed Al-Arabiya television.

Yemen's Defense Ministry said the missile attack "shook the Saudi capital" and the operation was successful. It also said the attack was conducted using a Yemeni-made, long-range ballistic missile called the Burqan 2H.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition of states against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who toppled Yemen's internationally recognized government in 2015.

The missile attack represents the first time the heart of the Saudi capital has been attacked.

"We previously warned that capitals of countries attacking Yemen will not be safe from our ballistic missiles," Houthi spokesman Mohammed AbdulSalam said. "Today's missile attack comes in response to Saudi killing innocent Yemeni civilians."

The Riyadh airport tweeted that it hadn't been affected.

"Travelers across King Khalid international airport in Riyadh, we assure you that the movement is going on as normal and usual, and trips going according to time," the airport said in Twitter.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/04/middleeast/saudi-arabia-ballistic-missile/index.html

 

[hadi123]

Saudi Arabia has intercepted a ballistic missile from Yemen, reports say, after a loud explosion was heard near Riyadh airport.

Saudi air defence forces were quoted by broadcaster Al-Arabiya as saying they intercepted the missile north-east of the capital.

A TV channel linked to Houthi rebels in Yemen said the missile was launched at the King Khalid International Airport.

Saudi forces have reported shooting down Houthi missiles before.

No previous missiles have come so close to a major population centre.

Yemen has been devastated by a war between forces loyal to the internationally-recognised government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi and those allied to the Houthi rebel movement.

Saudi Arabia is leading a campaign to defeat the Houthis, and is the biggest power in an international air coalition that has bombed the rebel group since 2015.

UN-brokered talks have failed to bring an end to the bloodshed, which has claimed more than 8,600 lives and injured nearly 50,000 since the Saudi-led campaign began.

The conflict has also left 20.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, created the world's largest food security emergency, and led to a cholera outbreak that is believed to have affected 884,000 people and caused 2,184 deaths.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-41872995

 

[Gabbar Singh]

This will give them yet another reason to bomb the hell out of civilians in Yemen while the rest of the world sits by and watches.

 

[Lonewarrior]

total 5 scud missiles were fired from yemen (houthi rebels)
only 4 were intercepted, one gt Hit.
so much for US THAAD SAM System ...
thats why i said many times, no SAM system is invincible ...

 

[Abdullah719]

Again...


Yemen rebel ballistic missile 'intercepted over Riyadh'

The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen's Houthi rebels says it has intercepted a ballistic missile near Riyadh, Saudi state media report.

Witnesses in the Saudi capital posted videos on social media showing a cloud of smoke in the air and there were no immediate reports of any damage.

The Houthi movement's al-Masirah TV said rebel fighters had fired a Burkan-2 missile at the Yamama Palace.

Last month, a similar missile came close to hitting Riyadh's airport.

Saudi Arabia and the US have accused Iran of supplying the Houthis with the missile.

Iran has denied arming the Houthi movement, which has been fighting a war against Yemen's government and the Saudi-led coalition since 2015.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42412729

 

[Varun]

How does a missile fired from Yemen to Saudi Arabia get intercepted "north East of Riyadh" anyway? Surely it's not taking the long route via the Antarctic?

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Seems like the Yemen missile strike capability is about on a par with Palestinian efforts against Israel.

 

[sshakir411]

I'm in the Kingdom for a few weeks and heard this blast. It was pretty loud but didn't see anything after. Things in the city are normal and life is going on as usual.

 

[big_gamer007]

An ex colleague of mine posted on FB that the missile was just above his office.. Scary stuff

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Saudi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Saudi</a>-led coalition says Houthis have launched 7 ballistic missilis into Saudi cities among them <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Riyadh?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Riyadh</a> and an Egyptian expatriate have been killed. <a href="https://t.co/631cZ8cJyp">pic.twitter.com/631cZ8cJyp</a></p>— Zaid Benjamin (@zaidbenjamin) <a href="https://twitter.com/zaidbenjamin/status/978048519088103424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2018</a></blockquote>
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