One Dead, 11 Wounded as Saudi Intercepts Yemen Rebel Missile

Riyadh, Aug 9 (AFP) Saudi Arabia shot down a missile fired by Yemen's Huthi rebels, with debris killing a Yemeni man and wounding 11 others, a Riyadh-led coalition fighting the insurgents said.

The ballistic missile was fired yesterday from the northern Yemeni province of Amran towards the southern Saudi city of Jizan, said a coalition statement published by the official Saudi Press Agency.

"Shrapnel from the intercepted missile scattered over residential areas, leaving a Yemeni resident killed and 11 other civilians wounded," the coalition said.

The Iran-backed Huthis have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, which Riyadh usually says it intercepts.

Yesterday's attack brings the tally to 165 rebel missiles launched since 2015, according to the coalition, which that year joined the Yemeni government's fight against Huthi rebels.

In 2014, the Huthis overran the Yemeni capital and seized control of much of northern Yemen as well as a string of ports on the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies intervened in the conflict the following March, aiming to push back the Huthis and restore the internationally recognised government to power.

Riyadh accuses its regional rival Tehran of supplying the Huthis with ballistic missiles, a charge Iran denies.

The war in the impoverished country has left nearly 10,000 people dead and unleashed what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. (AFP) CK

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