Yemen’s Air Defenses Deter Saudi Air Raid in Al-Jawf

By Staff, Agencies

Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesman, Brigadier General Yehya Saree, announced that the country’s air defense units have managed to thwart a Saudi airstrike against strategic and residential areas in al-Jawf northern province.

Saree said a squadron of Saudi F-15 fighter jets sought to bombard areas in the province, located approximately 110 kilometers north of the capital Sana'a, on Monday noon, when the domestically-built and long-range Fater-1 [Innovator-1] surface-to-air missile defense system intercepted the jets and forced them off Yemeni airspace.

The development took place only two days after Yemeni army air defenses also intercepted two Saudi-led F-16 warplanes in the skies of Jawf, deterring the aircraft from carrying out any act of aggression.

Earlier that day, the long-range Fater-1 missile defense system had prevented a Saudi-led F-15 military aircraft from launching an aerial attack in the same Yemeni region.

Yemeni armed forces unveiled Fater-1 along with other domestically-built long-range, surface-to-air missile defense systems on February 23.

The systems have entered service following successful tests, the official announced at the time.

Also on Monday, Saudi-led warplanes carried out an aerial attack against residential areas in central Yemen, using internationally-banned cluster bombs.

The aircraft struck the Sirwah district of Ma'rib province.

Saudi-led military forces also launched a salvo of Katyusha rockets at different areas in the 7th of July district of the strategic western Yemeni province of Hudaydah.

There were, however, no immediate reports about possible casualties or the extent of damage caused.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing back to power a former Riyadh-backed government and crushing the Ansarullah revolutionary movement.

Meanwhile, as the war finishes its fifth year, the UN said over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.