Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed on Tuesday two hostile drones, launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen, towards the Kingdom, said the Arab coalition.
Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki revealed that the drones were headed towards densely populated civilian areas in the city of Khamis Mushait.
“They were intercepted and destroyed according to the Rules of Engagement,” he added according to the Saudi Press Agency.
Shrapnel from the destroyed aircraft fell over residential areas, leaving five civilians wounded, including a woman and child. Some houses and four vehicles were damaged, Maliki stated.
He remarked that the Houthis have continued their hostile acts, such as flying drones, employing booby-trapped speedboats and using Yemen’s Hodeidah province as a platform for terror attacks, while the Arab coalition has respected the ceasefire in the province in line with the Stockholm agreement.
He accused the militias of maintaining their terrorist acts in order to provoke a military retaliation from the coalition.
The UN-sponsored deal was reached between the legitimate Yemeni government and Houthis in Sweden in December 2018.
The joint coalition command will continue to support the political efforts exerted by the UN to ensure the success of the deal, Maliki vowed.
At the same time, the command, warned in the “strongest terms”, the Houthi terrorist militias against targeting civilians and resorting to suicide attacks, saying such acts will lead to a decisive reaction by the coalition in accordance to International Humanitarian Law.
