Illustrative image, source: the Houthis media wing
Early on December 5, the Saudi-led coalition announced that it had intercepted four suicide drones which were launched from Yemen, allegedly by the Houthis (Ansar Allah), at Saudi Arabia’s southern region.
In a statement, the coalition claimed that the Houthis also launched four ballistic missiles at the central Yemeni city of Ma’rib, which is held by its proxies.
“We monitored the Houthis using civilian facilities during the preparation and launch operation,” the statement reads.
The Houthis have not commented on the Saudi-led coalition’s claims, yet. The large-scale drone and missile attack may have been a response by the group to the coalition’s recent airstrikes on Yemen.
On December 3, a Saudi-led coalition airstrike on the southwestern province of Taiz claimed the lives of 18 people, including children. On December 4, coalition airstrikes on an alleged supply center of the Houthis in capital, Sanaa, wounded 16 people and inflicted heavy material damage on civilian properties.
The Houthis warned recently that Saudi Arabia will face “serious consequences” for the coalition’s intense airstrikes on Yemen.
If the group was indeed behind the large-scale drone and missile attack on southern Saudi Arabia and Ma’rib city, then its offensive capabilities were not harmed much by the Saudi-led coalition recent airstrikes.