Saudi again intercepts ballistic missile named Volcano H2 fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels

Riyadh, December 20: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels over its capital city Riyadh. Notably, this is the second incident that took place within a time period of one and half months and another potential flashpoint in the volatile Saudi-Iranian relationship. There was no casualty reported.

 

Saudi Arabia claimed that it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels over its capital city Riyadh. A spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen said the missile was intercepted south of Riyadh, however, caused no casualties.

Colonel Turki Al-Malki in a statement asserted Iran’s role in supplying missiles to the rebel group, which he called a clear violation of United Nations resolutions. “This aggressive and arbitrary act by the armed Houthi Iranian group proves the continued involvement of the Iranian regime in supporting the Houthis with the aim of threatening the security of the Kingdom,” Mr. Al-Malki added.

On the other side, according to the Houthis’ official Saba news agency, the Houthis’ rocket force claimed it fired a “Volcano H2” missile at Riyadh, targeting a meeting of Saudi leaders at the Al-Yamamah royal palace.

Interestingly, it was the same type of missile that was launched in the month of November this year at one of kingdom's major international airports on the outskirts of the capital, Riyadh. This is the second time that a Houthi missile has come this close to a heavily populated area of Saudi Arabia. Riyadh is around 1,000 kilometers, north of the country's border with Yemen.

The United States immediately condemned a ballistic missile attack over Riyadh which Saudi Arabia claimed was launched from Yemen by Iran-backed Huthi rebels. State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said, the US remains deeply disturbed by the aggressive Houthi actions supported by Iran's provision of advanced weapons, which threaten regional security and prolong the Yemen conflict.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia intercepted missiles fired from Houthis several times in the year 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition launched a war against Houthi rebels and their allies after they captured northern Yemen and ousted the Saudi-backed president from power. The kingdom has also imposed an air and sea blockade on Yemen.

The civil war in Yemen has killed more than 10,000 civilians and displaced 3 million others. Yemen is also suffering from the disastrous outbreak of cholera due to which 2180 civilians are killed while suspect cases have reached to 8,72,415 in the time period of 6 months.