Houthi drone intercepted

Arab coalition forces yesterday intercepted and destroyed an Iranian-made drone used by Houthis over Abha in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Royal Air Force’s defence system caught the drone, which was heading for the southern city, spokesman Col Turki Al Maliki said yesterday. After specialists examined the debris of the device, it was found to be a Houthi drone built using Iranian specifications. Al Maliki warned the Iranian-backed Houthi militia “in the strongest terms” against targeting civilians and civilian targets.

He added that the coalition would take any measures in accordance with international humanitarian law to deter their threat. This latest interception comes after a drone attack earlier this month on a military parade at Al Anad air base in Yemen’s government-held Lahij province killed at least seven people. The dead included high-ranking Yemeni intelligence official Brig Gen Saleh Tamah. In December, the coalition destroyed a drone and its launch pad at Sanaa International Airport.

The coalition said the drone was in the preparation stage for its launch before it was destroyed. The drone interception came on the same day that the Arab coalition freed and returned seven Houthi prisoners back to Yemen. In another development, Saudi soldier Musa Awaji arrived back in the Kingdom after he was released by his Houthi captors in Yemen. Col Al Maliki, said Awaji flew in to King Salman Air Base in Riyadh at 9:45 pm. on January 29.

The Houthis agreed to release him because of the poor state of his health and their inability to provide suitable care for him. It followed a joint negotiation effort by the leadership of the coalition forces and Martin Griffith, the special envoy of the secretary-general of the United Nations to Yemen.