Saudi air defense forces shoot down Houthi ballistic missile over Najran

Houthi militia gather in Sanaa, Yemen, during a festival. (AP file photo)

• The missile attack on Saudi Arabia was the third in April
• Saudi-led Coalition forces have asked the UN to condemn the Houthi missile attacks on civilian areas

Jeddah: Saudi  air defense forces have intercepted and destroyed a Houthi militia-launched ballistic missile heading toward Najran, the Coalition supporting Yemen's legitimate government said on Saturday.
Col. Turki Al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said in a statement that at 09:32 on Friday evening, Coalition air defense forces have monitored that a ballistic missile was launched from Saada, inside Yemen, toward the southern city of Najran 
It was subsequently shot down by the Kingdom's Patriot missile defense system before it could hit land. The splinters of the missile scattered on residential neighborhoods, but there were no reports immediate reports of injuries or damage to property, he said.
The attack was just the latest on Saudi Arabia by the Iran-backed Houthis.
On March 25, the militia launched seven missiles toward Riyadh and other Saudi cities, all of which were shot down by air defense forces. Officials have said an Egyptian driver was killed by falling debris from an intercepted missile.
On April 2, Houthi militias fired a ballistic missile toward civilian areas in the border town of Dhahran Al-Janoub in Jazan province, close to the southern border with Yemen. Al-Maliki said the missile fell on wasteland in Yemen two kilometers from the Saudi border.
On April 3, Houthis attacked a Saudi oil tankers in international waters west of the port of Hodeidah, but the attempted attack was foiled after a quick intervention by one of the alliance’s naval vessels.
“The tanker suffered a minor injury but completed its navigational line and sailed north accompanied by one of the naval coalition ships,” Al-Maliki had said.
Houthi militia forces again launched a missile toward Jazan province on Wednesday at 9:31 p.m., but caused no casualties or damage.