The Saudi Air Defence intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Iran-backed Houthi militia against cities of Riyadh and Jazan . The interception of the missiles resulted in debris scattering on some residential areas with “no casualties”. The launch of ballistic missiles by the terrorist Houthi militia and the IRGC at this time reflects the real threat of this terrorist militia and the Iranian regime sponsoring it, Colonel Turki Al Malki, the spokesman for the Coalition Forces for the Support of Legitimacy in Yemen, in a statement, which was carried by the Saudi Press Agency, SPA.
The interception of the missiles resulted in “debris scattering on some residential areas” in Riyadh and Jizan. The SPA later said “two civilians were slightly injured due to the falling of the intercepted missile’s debris as it exploded in mid-air over residential districts”. Residents in Riyadh reported at least three blasts late on Saturday, followed by emergency vehicle sirens in some northern districts. The latest missile attack comes after all parties in Yemen’s long conflict offered support on Thursday for the United Nations’ call for a ceasefire to protect civilians from the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television said US Patriot missile defence systems were used in the interception. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis battling the Saudi-led coalition have launched hundreds of missiles and drones across the border, mostly at nearby military and civilian targets, but also at Riyadh. The city is about 1,000km (620 miles) north of the border with Yemen, and the last attempted attack on the capital was in June 2018. the Houthis forces launched rockets and drones at “sensitive” sites in Riyadh and at economic and military sites in Jazan, Najran and Asir, near the Yemeni border.
The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar component of the weapon system. The AN/MPQ-53 at the heart of the system is known as the “Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target” which is a backronym for PATRIOT. Patriot systems have been sold to the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Egypt, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Republic of China (Taiwan), Greece, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Romania.
