SANAA, 28 February, 2021, (TON): The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Saturday it had intercepted an explosive-laden drone fired by Houthi rebels towards Saudi Arabia. 

"Coalition forces managed to intercept and destroy an unmanned explosive-laden drone launched by the Houthi militia towards Khamis Mushait city” in southern Saudi Arabia, coalition spokesman Col. Turki al-Maliki, said in a statement cited by the Saudi News Agency. 

Al-Maliki said the Houthis targeting of civilian areas amounted to “war crimes”. 

Yemeni rebels regularly announce rocket and drone attacks on Saudi territories, saying they are a reaction to the Saudi-led coalition’s assault on Yemen. 

On Friday, the coalition said it had intercepted two drone and missile attacks by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia. 

There was no comment from the Houthi group on the report. 

Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when Shiite rebels “Houthi” with links to Iran took control of Yemen’s capital Sanaa. 

The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in 2015 to support Hadi's government. The Saudi-led coalition has continued to wage its campaign against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, resulting in heavy civilian casualties. 

The conflict has killed 100,000 people and led to what the United Nations describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.