Middle East

Saudi tests siren after Iran backed Houthi militia fire new missiles

Thu, 2018-05-10 18:53

RIYADH: The Director of Civil Defense, Sulaiman Alamro said Thursday that it tested a new siren system for the capital Riyadh and oil-rich Eastern Province, the day after Houthi militia fired three ballistic missiles at the kingdom from Yemen.

The Saudi civil defense posted a video on its official site of the alarm system being tested. In a statement, Alamro stressed the importance of the early warning system to achieve the objectives of civil defense in the protection of life and property. The most important element of which are warning sirens, designed to “face risks of all kinds” and alert the population “in case of emergency.”

Yemens Iran-allied Houthi militia have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against neighboring Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition to restore the legitimately elected government in Sanaa. The Houthi insurgents announced they had fired two ballistic missiles at Riyadh and a third at the southern city of Jizan near the border, on Wednesday alone.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition said the kingdoms air defenses intercepted all three, in statements carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

Riyadh has long accused Tehran of supplying the Houthi militia with ballistic missiles.

Wednesdays salvo came after US President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, which he criticized for excluding measures to curb Iran's ballistic missile program.

Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in Yemen in 2015 with the aim of pushing back the Houthi militia and restoring the internationally recognized government to power.

Main category: Saudi ArabiaTags: Saudi ArabiaKSAballistic missileCivil DefenceYemenHouthiHouthi militia Saudi aid agency performs 27 surgical operations in YemenHouthi rebels blocking aid to Yemen, says Al-Assiri

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