RIYADH (The Thursday Times) — The Saudi-led coalition said on Monday that its air defences had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at southern Saudi Arabia, a day after it carried out strikes that Houthi media said hit Yemen’s Ras Isa port.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki gave no details of the target or of any casualties. He said a drone launched towards the south had also been destroyed on Sunday evening. Saudi Civil Defence issued and then lifted alerts for Abha, Khamis Mushait, Taif and Najran, and warned residents against filming or sharing information about attacks.
Al-Maliki said Sunday’s operation was meant to “neutralise vital resources” the Houthis use to support their war effort, especially ballistic missiles and drones. He did not name the locations. Houthi media said seven people were wounded, four at the Ras Isa port dock in Hodeidah province and three at an oil company site in Bajil district.
The Houthis, citing a military official, repeated threats against Saudi Aramco facilities and warned international airlines against using Saudi airspace, except over Makkah and Madinah.
On the ground, Yemeni government forces are pressing a campaign to retake positions in al-Jawf. An army spokesman said they had killed about 500 Houthi fighters across al-Jawf, Marib and al-Bayda, a figure that could not be independently verified. In Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city, the governor said 120 health centres had stopped operating since the Houthis cut supply routes in early October.
