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Report: Saudi Arabia Shoots Down Yemeni Missile


FILE - A Houthi militant stands in front of a cardboard model of a missile during a gathering to mark 1,000 days of the Saudi-led military intervention in the Yemeni conflict, in Sana'a, Yemen, Dec. 21, 2017.
FILE - A Houthi militant stands in front of a cardboard model of a missile during a gathering to mark 1,000 days of the Saudi-led military intervention in the Yemeni conflict, in Sana'a, Yemen, Dec. 21, 2017.

A ballistic missile fired by Yemen's armed Houthi group toward Saudi Arabia's southern Jizan region was shot down Tuesday by Saudi forces, Saudi state TV Ekhbariya reported.

The station gave no further details. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

The Iranian-aligned Houthis have fired several missiles at the kingdom, and while these have not caused any serious damage they have served to deepen tensions between Riyadh and its arch rival Tehran.

Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of supplying missile parts and expertise to the Houthis, who have taken over the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, and other parts of the country during its civil war. Iran denies the charge.

Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition that has been fighting the Houthis in neighboring Yemen since March 2015, after the movement drove Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.

Saudi Arabia said on Nov. 4 it had intercepted a ballistic missile over Riyadh's King Khaled Airport, an attack that led the coalition to close air, land and sea access to Yemen in a move it said was meant to stop Iranian supplies to the Houthis.

The conflict has killed more than 10,000 people, displaced over two million and brought much of the country to the brink of famine.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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