RIYADH: The Arab coalition fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi movement in Yemen said on Sunday that it had intercepted and downed a ballistic missile launched toward civilian targets in southern Saudi Arabia.
Cross-border attacks by the Houthi militias have escalated since late May. In late June, missiles reached the Saudi capital Riyadh. The coalition has retaliated with airstrikes.
On Thursday the coalition said it had intercepted and downed an armed drone and two ballistic missiles launched toward southern Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the deputy spokesman for the Civil Defense Directorate in Jazan region, Lt. Col. Mohammed bin Hassan Al-Samghan, said that the Saudi authorities discovered a mine hidden in a rock in Ahad Al-Masarihah governorate. He said the mine must have been washed away by flooding in Yemen. The authorities successfully dismantled the mine.
More than 1.1 million mines were planted by the Houthi militias in Yemen during the conflict.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned the Houthis for continuing to launch missiles toward the Kingdom.