Saudis Intercept Missile Fired From Yemen That Came Close to Riyadh<br />4, 2017<br />SANA, Yemen — A ballistic missile fired from Yemen came close to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Saturday<br />and was intercepted by the Saudi military over the city’s international airport, the Saudi defense ministry said.<br />Yemen’s Houthi-controlled defense ministry said its forces had targeted the airport with a long-range missile called the Burqan<br />2H in response to an attack by the Saudi-led coalition on Wednesday that killed 26 people in a hotel and a nearby market.<br />Military analysts at IHS Jane’s have written that the Houthis’ emerging use of ballistic missiles offers some support for American, Saudi and Israeli allegations<br />that Iran is aiding them with parts or technology, but add that it would be difficult for Iran to ship whole missiles to Yemen.<br />The Yemeni defense ministry has claimed several times to have fired a Burqan 2<br />missile at Saudi Arabia, which has acknowledged at least one previous strike.<br />Coming on a day of increasing regional tensions, it was the first time such an attack had come so close to the center of<br />Riyadh in the two years since Saudi Arabia started a war against the Houthi rebel group that toppled Yemen’s government.<br />"This act of aggression against Riyadh proves involvement of one of the terror states supporting the<br />Houthis," the coalition was quoted as saying in a tweet from Al Hadath, a Saudi-run news channel.
