Saudi-led coalition says destroyed Yemen rebel missile launch sites

AFP  |  Riyadh 

A military coalition led by today said it had destroyed sites used by Huthi rebels in neighbouring to launch missiles at the kingdom.

In a statement reported by Saudi Arabia's government-run Al Ekhbariya TV, the coalition announced the "destruction of ballistic missile (launch) sites run by the Huthi militias in Saada", a northern Yemeni province bordering and controlled by the Huthis.

and its allies are fighting alongside against the Iran-backed Huthis in a war that has claimed nearly 10,000 lives and pushed impoverished to the brink of famine.

has come under increasingly frequent missile attacks launched by the Huthis from northern this year.

The kingdom's air defence forces say they intercepted all missiles, and only one casualty has been reported.

Saudi Arabia, the biggest crude exporter in the world, last week announced it had temporarily suspended shipments through the after a Huthi missile attack on an vessel.

The strait connects the to the and is a crucial passage for and trade.

"The coalition will not allow the Huthi militias to build military capabilities that threaten regional waters," read Sunday's coalition statement.

The Saudi-led alliance intervened in Yemen in 2015 to back the country's internationally recognised government after the Huthi rebels forced out of the capital

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First Published: Sun, July 29 2018. 21:30 IST