2 children injured, buildings damaged as Saudi Arabia intercepts ballistic missile

Read Time:1 Minute, 26 Second

wo children were injured and buildings were damaged when a missile was intercepted over Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich eastern region on Saturday, the ministry of defence said.

The missile was intercepted over a suburb of the town of Dammam, with scattered shrapnel injuring two Saudi children and causing light damage to 14 houses, the statement carried by state press agency SPA said.

Photos on state media showed broken glass and damaged entrances of a couple of residential buildings.

The coalition blamed the attack on the Iran-aligned Houthi forces. There was no immediate claim of responsibility in Houthi-run media.

The coalition also said it intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles heading towards Jazan and Najran within the southern a part of the country. It earlier reported the interception of three explosive-laden drones headed towards the dominion .

Eastern Saudi Arabia is home to significant oil infrastructure that has previously been targeted by aerial attacks. An attack in September 2019 on two Aramco plants within the east temporarily knocked out half the country’s boring .

Yemen’s Houthis, who regularly launch drones and missiles into the dominion , have claimed responsibility for several attacks on Saudi oil installations within the past.

A source conversant in the matter said there was no impact on facilities belonging to state-controlled oil giant Saudi Aramco which the attack happened outside of Aramco facilities.

“The Ministry of Defence will take the required and deterrent measures to guard its lands and capabilities, and stop such hostile and cross-border attacks to guard civilians, in accordance with international humanitarian law,” the ministry said.

The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015, backing forces of the ousted government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi fighting the Houthis.