6 Houthi missiles and a drone intercepted targeting Saudi Arabia

Sunday’s attack was latest in a recent spate launched by the Houthi militia. (File/AFP)
Updated 26 August 2019
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6 Houthi missiles and a drone intercepted targeting Saudi Arabia

  • The ballistic missiles fired from Saada province were targeting Jazan city
  • The drone was fired from Sana'a and was targeting Khamis Mushayt

RIYADH: Six ballistic missiles fired from Yemen were intercepted on Sunday evening by the Arab coalition as they headed towards Jazan in south-west Saudi Arabia.

The missiles were launched by the “Houthi terrorist militia from Saada province in an attempt to target civilian and civilian installations in Jazan city,” coalition spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki said.

He accused the Houthis of carrying out “terrorist war crimes that violate international humanitarian law.”

Earlier on Sunday, the Arab coalition intercepted a Houthi drone targeting the Saudi city of Khamis Mushayt, state news agency SPA reported.

Col. Al-Maliki said the attacks reflect the size of the Houthi’s losses on the battlefield in Yemen as a result “of the continuing military operations deep inside Saada governorate.”

Saada is Yemen’s northern mountainous province that borders Saudi Arabia and is the Houthis main stronghold.

The drone attack targeting Khamis Mushayt, state was the second to on the city in recent days. The coalition said it was launched from the former Yemeni capital Sanaa, which the Houthis seized in 2014, to spark the conflict.

Earlier this month, 10 drones attacked the Shaybah natural gas liquefaction plant in Saudi Arabia near the UAE border. The attack caused no injuries and did not disrupt operations, Saudi Arabia said.


Two Holy Mosques authority launches smart interactive map system

Updated 4 sec ago
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Two Holy Mosques authority launches smart interactive map system

MADINAH: A new smart interactive map system has been inaugurated for the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque.

CEO of the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque Ghazi Al-Shahrani said that the smart interactive map facilitated the movement of visitors and worshipers while significantly enhancing navigational efficiency within the two holy mosques. The system is designed to guide visitors along the most suitable routes, support real-time updates, ensure safe navigation and enhance the overall quality of the experience.

Al-Shahrani said that the results achieved were part of the authority’s efforts to advance digital transformation and leverage smart technologies in serving pilgrims. He said that this system was one of dozens launched recently that contributed to generating operational data that supported decision-making, enhanced understanding of challenges and paved the way for developing future digital systems.

Interactive maps are part of a smart digital system that provides real-time spatial guidance, powered by live operational data linked to control rooms. This enables visitors to be directed to the most appropriate routes during closures or congestion, with immediate and accurate updates.

Executive vice president of digital transformation at the authority, Mohammed Al-Saqr, said that the pilot phase of the maps, which began during Ramadan, was integrated with the color coding and metric addressing system, which divided the Two Holy Mosques into clear geographical zones that supported smart operations and activated spatial data as part of an integrated services and analytics ecosystem. He said that this launch represented the first step in a project that would continue to evolve over the coming years, with further development planned through 2026.

Al-Saqr said that the system featured more than 950 points of interest across 13 service categories, supported by more than 650 QR codes for easy access. It could also generate more than 100,000 dynamic routes, automatically optimized in real time based on operational conditions and crowd flow.

Director of business solutions at the authority, Waheeb Al-Mutrafi, said that the maps enabled precise location-based reporting and contributed to accelerating access to electric carts through ticket numbers via a smart platform built on field data verified over several months, enhancing operational efficiency and improving the quality of services provided to worshippers.