Illustrative image, source: the Houthis media wing
The Saudi-led coalition intercepted two suicide drones which launched from Yemen, allegedly by the Houthis (Ansar Allah), in less than 24 hours.
Late on October 1, the first suicide drone was intercepted over the southern Saudi province of Jizan, specifically over the governorate of Ahad al-Masarihah.
Shrapnel from the interception and the remains of the drone fell over a residential area causing some material losses, according to the Saudi Civil Defense.
📷#صور | شظايا الطائرة المسيرة الحوثية التي تم اعتراضها وتسببت في تضرر منازل ومحلات تجارية في محافظة أحد المسارحة دون وقوع إصابات أو وفيات#عكاظ #ان_تكون_اولا #تطبيق_عكاظhttps://t.co/EAmzpb1Bau pic.twitter.com/VJeD6wAfeC
— عكاظ (@OKAZ_online) October 2, 2021
The second suicide drone was intercepted in the afternoon of October 2 over the city of Khamis Mushait in the southern Saudi province of ‘Asir. No losses were reported.
The Houthis have not commented on any of the attack attempts yet. However, the Yemeni group’s responsibility for the first attack was confirmed.
The drone intercepted over Ahad al-Masarihah was identified as a Qasef, a copy of the Iranian Ababil-2. The suicide drone has a range of 150 kilometers and an endurance of two hours. The Qasef-2K variant is armed with a high explosive fragmentation, HE-FRAG, warhead and equipped with a proximity fuse.
Click to see full-size image.
The Houthis stepped up their missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia recently. Last week, the Saudi-led coalition intercepted a ballistic missile and five suicide drones on a single day.
Currently, Saudi Arabia is struggling to secure a replacement for missile defense systems which were recently recalled by the US.
