Saudi Arabia shoots down Houthi missile headed towards Mecca

[monitor]

Saudi Arabia shoots down Houthi missile headed towards Mecca
| 2016-10-28 13:28:37

(Middle East Eye)- Yemeni rebels have launched one of their longest-range strikes against Saudi Arabia, firing a ballistic missile that was shot down near Mecca, the Saudi-led coalition fighting them said on Friday.

The coalition has been carrying out a bombing campaign against the rebels since March last year and there have been strikes towards the bases from which the raids have been mounted.

Saudi Arabia has deployed Patriot missiles to intercept the rebel fire.

Houthi rebels launched the missile "toward the Mecca area" on Thursday evening from their Saada province stronghold just across the border, a coalition statement said.

"The air defence was able to intercept and destroyed it about 65 kilometres (40 miles) from Mecca without any damage."

The rebel Sabanews website said they fired a ballistic missile towards King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, west of Mecca.

Mecca lies more than 500 kilometres (more than 300 miles) from the border.

It is the second time this month that the rebels have fired a missile of that range.

On 9 October, the coalition said it had intercepted a missile near Taif, the site of a Saudi airbase some 65 kilometres from Mecca.

That launch came the day after a coalition air strike killed more than 140 people attending a wake for the father of a rebel leader in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, prompting threats of revenge.

In a separate incident on Thursday, rebel fire hit a two-storey residential building in the Saudi border district of Jazan but there were no casualties, the civil defence agency said.

 

[monitor]

Houthi ballistic missile shot down near Makkah
Arab News | Published — Friday 28 October 2016



JEDDAH: Saudi ground defenses intercepted late on Thursday a ballistic missile launched by Houthi militias targeting the holy city of Makkah.
The Arab coalition said in a statement that the missile was downed 65 km from Makkah, adding that the coalition jet fighters attacked the rocket launchers in Saada and destroyed them.
Meanwhile, Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr on Thursday said Iran has trained thousands of Houthi fighters in Iran and Beirut, paving the way for the rebel militias' aggression.
“The war in Yemen did not start on March 26, 2015. It, in fact, started when Houthis raised the guns against their political rivals and against the state with clear support from Iran, which trained around 6,000 Houthis in Iran or in Beirut under military experts,” Bin Daghr said following a meeting with French Ambassador to Yemen Christian Tisti.
“The government never sought war, but it was imposed on us and on the Yemeni people when Houthis mobilized their war machines from Sida to Imran to Sanaa and to the rest of the Yemeni governorates and started killing people and bombing houses,” he said.
“The world will eventually realize that the Houthis are a problem not only for Yemen but also for the region and beyond,” the Yemeni official said, stressing that the Yemeni government, while seeking to arrive at a truce, is actively pursuing a long-lasting, permanent peace based on UN resolutions, the GCC initiative and the outcomes of the Yemeni national dialogue.
Meanwhile, US Navy and allied nations' warships have intercepted four shipments of weapons from Iran to war-ravaged Yemen since April 2015, a US admiral said Thursday.
Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly saying that Iran must be stopped from sending weapons to the Houthi militias, and called on the UN Security Council to take action against Iran for violating UN resolutions pertaining to it, particularly Resolution 2216.
In a previous interview with Arab News, Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said Iran’s intervention in Yemen is in total violation of the United Nations' resolutions; he called on the international community to stop Iran's interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
US Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan told reporters at an undisclosed military base in Southwest Asia: “Either US ships or coalition ships... intercepted four weapon shipments from Iran to Yemen. We know they came from Iran and we know the destination.”
Donegal said the shipments contained thousands of AK-47 assault rifles, anti-tank missiles, sniper rifles and “other pieces of equipment (and) higher-end weapons systems.”
Naval officials were able to determine the destination of the boats by analyzing GPS settings and interviewing the crew. One of the shipments had been declared an illegal weapon shipment by the UN, said Donegal.
His comments come after last week's US military's Central Command head Gen. Joseph Votel's declaration that Iran may have played a role in suspected Houthi missile attacks against US warships in the Red Sea.
“We believe that Iran is connected to this in some way,” Donegan said.
Given the heavy traffic around the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf, the three-star admiral said “plenty” of other shipments would have gone through to Yemen.
In April 2015, Iran tried to send a convoy of seven ships, guarded by two Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels, to Yemen.
Donegan said these were filled with coastal-defense cruise missiles, explosives and other weapons.
The Shiite Houthi militias are believed to be behind this month's attacks in which surface-to-surface missiles were fired at the USS Mason on at least two occasions.
In response, on Oct. 13, US cruise missiles struck Houthi radar sites believed to have been used to target the ships.
The Mason and two other warships were likely targeted in a third missile attack on Oct. 15, but officials have not conclusively confirmed what the threat was or where it was coming from.

 

[war&peace]

ٓApart from the politics, I'm interested in knowing the technical details of Houth's missile and KSA's missile defence.

 

[Rashid Mahmood]

Which ballistic missile do the Houthi's have, which can reach Makkah.
Even if they have such a missile, they cannot be so naive to fire it towards the most Holiest city in the world.

 

[Rashid Mahmood]

ٓApart from the politics, I'm interested in knowing the technical details of Houth's missile and KSA's missile defence.

• 17 Lockheed Martin AN/FPS-117 long-range phased array, 3-dimensional air search radar.
• 6 Northrop-Grumman AN/TPS-43 portable 3-dimensional tactical air search radar.
• Raytheon Improved HAWK air defence missile system.
• Raytheon MIM-104 Patriot air defence missile system
• Oerlikon Contraves [Skyguard 35mm] Twin Cannon Short Range air defence system

 

[SOHEIL]

Anyway, houthies and safavids in general have no respect for Mecca, they respect the dead body of Khomeini more than any Islamic holly site. This barbaric attack will lead to the definite end of Houthies.

Epic failure

 

[bsruzm]

Anyway, houthies and safavids in general have no respect for Mecca,

I wouldn't expect that by a person, who writes that their target actually was an international airport full of innocent's. I don't know what terrorism is, if that isn't one:

The target wasn't Mecca ... the target was King Abdulaziz international airport that's why Saudis have declared state of emergency in Jeddah ...

View attachment 347002

 

[Hamza913]

I'm fairly certain their target was not a holy site, they are Muslim too you know.

 

[asif_hussain]

this is utter bullshit youthis and khomeini's are not that crazy they are also very religious people they wouldn't dare attack mecca this will end up alienating their support base in entire muslim and non muslim world they may try to blow up the palaces of saudi sheikh's though

 

[Max]

i cannot believe this until Saudi govt release some proofs, Houthi are Muslims too, how they can even think of attacking Makkah..?

 

[monitor]

Which ballistic missile do the Houthi's have, which can reach Makkah.
Even if they have such a missile, they cannot be so naive to fire it towards the most Holiest city in the world.

Saudi coalition are claiming missile shot down 65 from Makka .in my opinion too they can't be so stupid to fire on Makka, may be Saudi wants to create sympathy support for their action in Yemen from Muslim world by accusing hauti attacking Makka.

 

[Mamluk]

Propaganda.

There's no missile in Houthi arsenal that can reach Mecca, and even if there was - why on earth would they do it?! Simply sectarian propaganda.

 

[Rashid Mahmood]

Saudi coalition are claiming missile shot down 65 from Makka .in my opinion too they can't be so stupid to fire on Makka, may be Saudi wants to create sympathy support for their action in Yemen from Muslim world by accusing hauti attacking Makka.

Saudi's can claim anything they want.

Yemen border is roughly 1000 km from Makkah. Which missile do the houthi's have to cover this distance, did the Saudi's mention the name of the missile.

Yes they want to gain sympathy for their support from the muslim world.

 

[EAK]

Epic failure

Being an elite member one-liners doesn't suit you...atleast try to indulge in the argument effectively .. ( By the way An elite member calling such things is an Epic failure )

 

[alarabi]

I wouldn't expect that by a person, who writes that their target actually was an international airport full of innocent's. I don't know what terrorism is, if that isn't one:

Even if their target was King AbdulAziz airport in Jeddah, that doesn't make it less dangerous because we all know that Mecca has no airport to receive pilgrims and visitors of Makkah, so that Jeddah airport is mainly used for receiving visitors of Makkah. That's totally a huge mistake and there is no justification for it.