RIYADH: Over 70 drones have been intercepted and destroyed in Al-Kharj, the Eastern Province, and Riyadh Region so far on Monday, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense reported.
On Sunday, Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alireza Enayati, sought to deflect blame from Tehran, sharing a notice attributed to Iran’s military command claiming that “the enemy” was deploying drones disguised as Iranian-made Shahed drones under the name “Lucas drone.”
The new barrage has raised the number of drones intercepted in the Kingdom at over 230. A tally from the Defense Ministry’s posts have also shown more than 30 missiles had been shot down.
Iranian strikes have followed a pattern of nightly attacks interspersed with daytime lulls.
Neighboring Gulf states have reported higher tolls — Bahrain alone said it intercepted 125 missiles and 203 drones, with the attacks killing two people there and 24 others across the region.
The UAE reported engaging 294 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,600 drones, recording six fatalities.
A drone strike hit the vicinity of Dubai International Airport earlier on Monday, affecting airport operations, which caused a fire in one of the fuel tanks.
Dubai authorities later announced the gradual resumption of some flights to and from the airport.
