Saudi Arabia downs explosive-laden dronefrom Yemen

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Thursday shot down a bomb-laden drone deployed by rebels in neighbouring Yemen to attack an airport in the kingdom, the Riyadh-led coalition fighting on the side of Yemen´s government said.

“An explosive-laden drone sent by the terrorist Huthi militia to target Najran airport” was intercepted and destroyed by the Saudi air force, coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki was quoted by state media as saying.

The Yemeni rebels´ Al-Masirah TV said the attack — the third against Najran airport in 72 hours — had targeted a Patriot air defence system. Maliki said “the rebels attacked a civilian airport” and warned of a “response”. An armed drone sent on Tuesday had hit a weapons depot at the same airport, setting off a blaze, according to Al-Masirah. Maliki said on Tuesday that the rebels attacked a “civilian installation” in Najran province bordering Yemen with an explosives-laden drone, but did not report casualties.

Yemen’s Houthi movement launched a drone attack on a Patriot missile battery in the airport of the Saudi city of Najran near the Yemeni border, the group’s Al-Masirah TV said on Thursday.

The group claimed responsibility for last week’s armed drone strikes on oil assets in Saudi Arabia and on Sunday said they would attack 300 vital military targets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. This is the third Houthi strike or attempt to strike Najran in a week, according to Saudi and Houthi reports.