Saudis intercept Yemen rebel missile targeting Riyadh Palace
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Shiite rebels says a missile fired over Riyadh has been intercepted.
The Yemeni rebels said they targeted the royal palace in the kingdom’s capital.
The announcement by the coalition was carried by Saudi state TV on Tuesday as people in the kingdom posted videos on social media showing a small cloud of smoke rising in the sky.
Mohammed Abdul-Salam, spokesman for the Shiite rebels in Yemen, said they fired a ballistic missile targeting the Yamama palace.
He tweeted that a ballistic Volcano H-2 missile was used in the attack.
It was the second missile fired by the Houthis at Riyadh since November 4.
Last month’s attack targeted the Saudi capital’s airport but was also intercepted.
The Yamama palace is where the Saudi monarch, King Salman, receives visiting foreign dignitaries and senior domestic officials.
The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting in Yemen since March 2015 to defeat the Iran-backed Houthis and reinstate the internationally recognised government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who was forced into exile by the Houthis.
