Yemen Insurgents Launch Missile Toward Mecca – Saudi Arabia

In the midst of Yemen’s stalemate civil war, Shiite rebels in the country launched a ballistic missile in the direction of the holy Muslim city of Mecca overnight, Saudi Arabia said on Friday. It was the rebel’s deepest attack yet into the kingdom.

Mecca is home to the cube-shaped Kaaba that the world’s Muslims pray toward five times a day. According to Rebel media in Yemen, the missile targeted an international airport in Jeddah. However, Saudi Arabia countered that the projectile was intercepted and destroyed 65 kilometers (40 miles) from Mecca.

The missile attack drew the immediate rage of Saudi citizens. For them, the security of Mecca is a fundamental pillar of the Saudi royal family’s stature and the country’s national identity. Further, the missile strike shows the capability of Yemen’s Shiite rebels, or Houthis, and their allies to persist in attacking Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi military said the missile caused no damage. It was fired Thursday night from Yemen’s northwestern Saada province neighboring the kingdom. The Saudi military has a stock of U.S.-made surface-to-air Patriot missile batteries it previously has fired at Houthi-launched missiles.

The military said in a statement transmitted by the state-run Saudi Press Agency that it immediately sent airstrikes that targeted the area where the missile was fired.

The Houthis are backed by forces loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. They have a supply of Soviet-era Scud missiles and locally designed variants.

‘Direct hit’ on airport

A published bulletin was circulated by the Houthi-controlled satellite news channel Al-Masirah. It said its forces had launched a Volcano-1 variant missile at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, without citing Mecca. That airport is located 75 kilometers (45 miles) northwest of Mecca.

The Houthi-controlled SABA news agency stated that the missile “directly hit” the airport and produced substantial destruction. But there were no immediate diversions or delays involving the airport Friday.

Earlier this month, a Houthi ballistic missile targeted Taif. This is where Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd Air Base is located, which also is close to Mecca.

Yemen is on the southern periphery of the Arabian Peninsula. It has been in the midst of a civil war since September 2014 when the Iranian-backed Houthis seized the capital of Sanaa. The then deposed the country’s internationally recognized government.

A Saudi-led alliance of Arab countries began a military campaign against the Houthi forces in March 2015. They claim that part of their mission is to counterbalance Iran’s influence after its nuclear agreement with world powers.

U.S. backs down amidst mounting civilian casualties

At the outset, the Saudi-led campaign had the intelligence and logistical backing of the U.S. However, escalating civilian fatalities from its airstrikes forced America to back off. Earlier this month some 140 people died and over 600 were wounded in a Saudi attack on a funeral in Sanaa.

The U.S. also launched Tomahawk missiles at mobile Houthi radar sites. The US’ response was executed following reports that its warships came under fire in the Red Sea near the crucial Bab al-Mandeb strait.

 

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