2020 Riyadh drone and missile attack | |
---|---|
Part of the Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict | |
Type | Ballistic missile and drone strikes |
Location | |
Target | Saudi military facilities in Riyadh, Najran and Jizan |
Date | 23 June 2020 10:00 a.m. (local time, UTC+3) |
Executed by | Houthi movement |
Casualties | None reported killed |
The 2020 Riyadh drone and missile attack was a cruise missile and drone attack carried out by the Yemeni Houthi rebels which occurred on 23 June 2020. The attack, according to the Houthis, targeted the King Khalid Airport and the Defense Ministry headquarters in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh. [1] [2]
The Saudi-led coalition reported the interception of 8 Houthis UAVs and 3 ballistic missiles launched at Riyadh. [2] According to Reuters : "Two loud explosions were heard in Riyadh and smoke billowed into the sky", but "there was no sign of damage to the side of the defense ministry building that is visible from the main road or to any surrounding buildings. The area was quiet on Tuesday evening, with normal traffic flows and no additional security measures. [2]
According to Saudi-led coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Malki, the Houthi attack was "a deliberate hostile action designed to target civilians". [2]
In March 2018, Houthi forces targeted Riyadh with missile attacks. Reuters reported that Saudi forces said they shot down three missiles over Riyadh shortly before midnight. Debris fell on a home in the capital, killing an Egyptian man and wounding two others. [3]
In June 2019, the Houthis launched cruise missiles at Abha International Airport and killed a Syrian civilian and wounded 47 others. [4] [5] [6] [7]
In September 2019, Iranian forces launched an attack on Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq–Khurais energy facility. [8]
During the ongoing civil war in Yemen and the Saudi intervention in Yemen, Houthi forces were achieving territorial gains in the Al Jawf Governorate and in Marib. [9] The attack is considered by analysts as a big escalation in the war and a reason for Saudi Arabia to reconsider "its military prowess". [9]
According to the Houthis the attack was carried out targeting 5 locations in Saudi Arabia and Yemen:
No casualties were reported. [10]
Marib is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Sabaʾ, which some scholars believe to be the ancient Sheba of biblical fame. It is about 120 kilometres east of Yemen's modern capital, Sanaa, and is in the region of the Sarawat Mountains. In 2005 it had a population of 16,794. However, in 2021, it had absorbed close to a million refugees fleeing the Yemeni Civil War.
Abha International Airport is an airport in Abha, the capital of 'Asir Province in Saudi Arabia.
United States drone strikes in Yemen started after the September 11 attacks in the United States, when the US military attacked the Islamist militant presence in Yemen, in particular Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula using drone warfare.
On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 by Houthi insurgents during the Yemeni Civil War. Efforts by the United Nations to facilitate a power sharing arrangement under a new transitional government collapsed, leading to escalating conflict between government forces, Houthi rebels, and other armed groups, which culminated in Hadi fleeing to Saudi Arabia shortly before it began military operations in the country.
The Houthi–Saudi Arabian conflict is an ongoing armed conflict between the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi forces that has been taking place in the Arabian Peninsula, including the southern Saudi regions of Asir, Jizan, and Najran, and northern Yemeni governorates of Saada, Al Jawf, and Hajjah, since the onset of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen in 2015.
The following is a timeline of the Yemeni civil war, which began in September 2014.
The Burkan-2H, or Volcano-2H is a mobile short-range ballistic missile used by the Houthis militants in Yemen. The Volcano H-2 was first launched in July 2017. It is related to the Scud missile family.
The Marib campaign, also called Marib offensive, is an ongoing military campaign in the Yemeni civil war for the control of the Marib Governorate of Yemen. Fighting between the Houthi forces and factions of the Yemeni Army loyal to Supreme Political Council on one side, and Yemeni Army units loyal to president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and militiamen on the other side, has taken place since early 2015. Marib is rich in oil and gas resources and is a key strategic governorate because it connects the Houthi-controlled Sanaa and Alimi-controlled Hadhramaut governorates.
The 2018 Riyadh missile strike was a series of seven missiles launched into Saudi Arabia by Shiite Houthi rebels on 26 March 2018, targeting the King Khalid International Airport and other sites. Saudi forces claimed to have destroyed all seven missiles, three of them targeting Riyadh, two targeting Jazan, and one targeting Najran. However, according to Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at CNS, the Saudis failed to intercept the missiles following a malfunction of the MIM-104 Patriot system. One video appeared to show a Patriot missile launch on Sunday night go rapidly wrong, with the missile changing course midair, crashing into a neighborhood in Riyadh and exploding. Another appeared to detonate shortly after being launched in the Saudi capital.
The following lists events in the year 2019 in Saudi Arabia.
The Abha International Airport attacks were cruise missile attacks carried out by the Yemeni Houthi rebels which occurred in June 2019. The attack targeted the arrivals hall of Abha International Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia and killed one civilian and injured 47 others.
Events of 2020 in Yemen.
The Al Jawf offensive was a Houthi offensive that began in February 2020 with clashes in the Al Jawf Governorate during the Second Yemeni Civil War. Houthi forces were able to decisively capture the town of Al Hazm on 1 March 2020 from the Hadi government. On 27 April, the first phase of the offensive ended with the Houthis capturing 3,500 square kilometers of territory in Al Jawf Governorate. After reinforcing, the Houthis launched the second phase of their offensive on 27 May, making further advances toward the city of Marib and capturing the Maas military base on 20 November, 2020. The Houthis halted the offensive on 5 February 2021, in order to account for changes in the Saudi-led coalition and Southern Transitional Council. After reinforcing once more, the Houthis launched a new offensive towards Marib city on 7 February.
On 28 August 2020, Houthi forces launched a ballistic missile and drone attack at a military camp in Marib Governorate, targeting Saudi-led coalition forces supporting the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. The attack killed at least 5 Yemeni soldiers, other sources indicate 40 killed. Soldiers were also reported injured.
Events in the year 2021 in Saudi Arabia.
The Battle of Marib is an ongoing battle that began in February 2021 following the advance of the Houthis towards the city of Marib, the capital of Marib Governorate in Yemen controlled by the Cabinet of Yemen.
The 2022 Abu Dhabi attack was an attack against three oil tanker trucks and an under construction airport extension infrastructure in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates conducted by the Houthi movement using drones and missiles. Although several missiles and drones were intercepted, 3 civilians were killed and 6 were injured by a drone attack.
Events in the year 2022 in Saudi Arabia.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Wikipedia articles available about the Yemeni crisis, revolution, and Yemeni civil war (2014–present).