Illustrative image, source: the Houthis media wing
On May 1, the Saudi-led coalition announced that it had intercepted a “hostile aerial target” that was flying over the Kingdom’s western coast.
In a statement, the coalition claimed that the target was heading towards Jeddah, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest cities. A number of sensitive military and civilian facilities are located near the city.
The Saudi-led coalition did not provide any details about the incident. Usually, the coalition blames the Houthis (Ansar Allah) for such incidents. However, this was not the case this time.
From their side, the Houthis are still silent. The Yemeni group has not yet to commented on the incident or confirmed its involvement.
Earlier this week, specifically on April 28, the Houthis launched a Qasef-2K suicide drone at King Khalid Air Base in the southern Saudi province of ‘Asir. The Saudi-led coalition claimed that the drone was intercepted.
The “aerial object” shot down over the shores of Jeddah may have been a Houthi drone on a reconnaissance mission. The Yemeni group operates several type of reconnaissance drones, some of which can reach Jeddah some 1,000 km away from Yemen.