The Saudi-led Arab Coalition said Sunday that it had destroyed sites used by the Iran-backed Houthi insurgents in Yemen’s Saada province to launch ballistic missiles.
The Coalition announced in a statement the "destruction over the past 24 hours of ballistic missile (launch) sites run by the Houthi militias in Saada.”
The Coalition explained that explosions continued hours after the initial targeting of the missile launch sites, which following after a careful intelligence monitoring by the Coalition command in these areas.
It stressed that it will not allow the terrorist group to acquire these capabilities and threaten regional and international security.
The Houthi militias’ targeting of Saudi oil tankers a few days ago in the Red Sea has raised concerns by peace-loving countries, Yemeni army spokesman Brigadier General Abdo Majali told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He also warned of the serious consequences of such attacks on international navigation in the Red Sea.
Majali said the response came from the Arab Coalition aircraft, which hit militia hideouts in addition to a number of ballistic missile launchers.
The spokesman stressed that these launchers had been used by the group to fire missiles from Saada occasionally on populated areas in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Coalition member-states and Yemen will not stand still and watch the Iranian-backed militia group threaten international navigation and carry out aggressive acts, he said.
Military decisiveness is necessary to liberate the port of Hodeidah, which is used by the militia to carry out terrorist operations and attacks against the Red Sea and regional and international waters, Majali said.
He pointed out that the Coalition-backed Yemeni armed forces are keen to complete the liberation of Hodeidah and its ports.
He noted that the militia has turned areas in Saada into ballistic missile launchers and caches for arms that are smuggled from Iran or looted from Yemen’s armed forces.
