RIYADH — The Iranian-backed Houthi militias attempted to hit a civilian site in the Saudi border province of Najran with a bomb-laden drone, Arab Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki Al-Maliki said, warning that there would be a “strong deterrent” to such attacks.

Maliki describing the Houthis as the “terrorist militias of Iran.”

Najran, 840 kilometers (525 miles) southwest of Riyadh, is right on the Saudi border with Yemen and has repeatedly been targeted by the Houthis.

Saudi air defense forces early Monday morning intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles — one over Taif heading toward Makkah and the other over Jeddah, according to eyewitnesses.

The Kingdom’s air defense forces were able to destroy the ballistic missiles 60 km from Makkah. The missile debris fell in the Jallel valley that extends to Makkah.

Commenting on the development, Col. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman of the Saudi-led Coalition Forces, said that the Saudi Royal Air Defense Forces intercepted hostile aerial targets flying over prohibited areas in Jeddah and Taif governorates. “The Air Defense Systems spotted on Monday morning the objects and were dealt with accordingly,” he said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

This is the second time the Houthis are trying to target Makkah. The first time the Iranian-backed militias targeted the holy city was in July 2017. — SG