An Egyptian man was killed by debris in the Saudi capital of Riyadh as the conflict in the Arabian peninsula threatens to escalate

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Saudi Arabia on Monday threatened retaliation against Iran, accusing the Shiite power of being behind multiple Yemeni rebel missile attacks on the kingdom that led to three deaths. Seven missiles were fired at the Saudi capital Riyadh on the third anniversary of the Saudi military intervention in Yemen civil war.



A Saudi coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki described the attacks by the Houthi rebels as a deadly escalation adding we “reserve the right to respond against Iran at the right time and right place”



One Egyptian was killed and two of his countrymen were wounded by falling shrapnel in Riyadh, authorities said, with residents reporting loud explosions and bright flashes in the sky shortly before midnight.

The Saudis at a press conference displayed fragments of the missiles, saying the evidence showed Iran had supplied the weaponry.



The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, in a statement strongly condemned the attacks calling for restraint amid mounting tensions. A new UN special envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has just started the process of reconciliation, and will be concerned that Saudi responds to the Houthi fired missiles by clamping down on humanitarian and commercial aid, a tactic deployed by Riyadh in November in response to previous Houthi missile attacks.



Britain on Monday urged Iran to “stop sending in weapons which prolong the conflict”, with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson saying he was “appalled” by the attack and would stand “shoulder to shoulder” with Riyadh.

The US State Department also said Washington would support the Saudis’ “right to defend their borders against these threats”.

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On Sunday Houthi missiles were fired at the southern cities of Najran, Jizan and Khamis Mushait, the coalition said in a statement carried by state news agency SPA.



Debris from the missiles fell on a home in Riyadh, killing an Egyptian resident and wounding two other Egyptians, said coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki, according to SPA.

Reuters reporters in Riyadh heard several booms and saw smoke in the air. Another witness said he saw a long stream of light followed by additional explosions.

In al-Malqa neighbourhood, emergency personnel gathered near a crater in the ground and inspected shattered glass in nearby homes.

Arab News (@arabnews) WATCH #Saudi Patriot missiles intercepting missiles fired by #Iran-backed #Houthi militia from #Yemen toward Riyadh on Sunday night. Seven Houthi missiles were shot down.https://t.co/MGskjzyao9 pic.twitter.com/wBKOmHMSfY

The attack marked the third time in five months that missiles have flown over Riyadh, as the Houthis step up efforts to demonstrate they can reach the Saudi capital, and threatened to escalate a regional rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi-run SABA news agency reported the group’s missile force had targeted King Khalid international airport in Riyadh with a Burkan H2 missile.

The group also fired other types of missiles at airports in Jizan, Najran and Abha, another southern Saudi city, according to the SABA report.

The Saudi-led coalition of Gulf Arab states launched military operations against the Houthis in Yemen in March 2015, after the Iran-aligned Shia militia seized the Yemeni capital Sanaa and forced the president, Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi, to flee.

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Riyadh saw the ouster as a regional power grab by arch-foe Iran, although the Houthis deny any help from Tehran.

The United States, which provides support to the coalition, has also displayed what it said were Iranian-made weapons supplied to the Houthis, calling them conclusive evidence that Tehran was violating UN resolutions.

The conflict in Yemen has killed more than 10,000 people and displaced more than two million, unleashing a humanitarian crisis in the Arabian peninsula’s poorest country. Nearly one million people have been infected with cholera, the worst outbreak in history.

Coalition forces have made modest territorial gains over the course of the war but appear far from seizing back the capital.