RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Saturday intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile over Riyadh after it was launched from conflict-torn Yemen, with debris landing inside the capital’s international airport, officials said. The missile attack claimed by Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels was the first aimed at the heart of the Saudi capital, underscoring the growing threat posed by the raging conflict in Yemen. “This evening a ballistic missile was fired from Yemeni territory towards the kingdom,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki as saying late Saturday. Shattered fragments from the intercepted missile landed in an uninhabited area of the airport and there were no injuries,” he added. In July, a ballistic missile fired from Yemen was shot down close to Mecca, a month before the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest site.

Source: New Strait Times November 04, 2017 21:33 UTC