Yemen rebels fire missile at Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a missile fired by Houthi rebels above Najran and claim it shows they are being backed by Iran.
Friday 5 January 2018 14:47, UK
Rebels in Yemen claim to have fired two missiles, one of which targeted a military camp in Saudi Arabia.
Houthi fighters announced they had fired one in the direction of the city of Najran, which Saudi authorities confirmed was intercepted.
Rebel-run Al Masirah TV said the missile hit its target with "high accuracy" and then claimed that another had been fired.
Saudi Arabia said its air defences "intercepted and destroyed" the first missile, which had caused "minor damage" to one person's home as shrapnel fell.
There were no deaths.
The second, the rebels said, was targeting Saudi-backed forces on Yemen's western coast.
Saudi Arabia's state news agency SPA quoted coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki as saying: "This hostile act by the Iran-backed Houthis proves the Iranian regime remains implicated in supporting the armed Houthis."
He added the attack "deliberately targeted densely-populated civilian areas".
Saudi Arabia and its allies, who back the Yemeni government against the rebels, have long-claimed Iran is supporting the Houthis.
In December, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said she had evidence that Tehran was providing missiles, a claim Iran called "fabricated".
Houthis have previously fired missiles toward Saudi Arabia, also targeting the capital of Riyadh. All of them have been intercepted.
The war in Yemen, which has been going on for three years, has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced three million, and pushed the country close to famine.