By Tuqa Khalid

RIYADH — Houthi militants in Yemen are trying to exploit the world’s preoccupation with tackling the coronavirus pandemic, Arab Coalition spokesperson Col. Turki Al-Maliki told Al Arabiya in an interview on Sunday, after the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward civilian targets in the cities of Riyadh and Jazan.

Al-Maliki added that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were directing the Houthi militias from Sanaa and stressed that the coalition will continue to face the Houthi militias and whoever supports them.

The spokesperson had announced earlier on Sunday that two ballistic missiles were launched from Yemen at 11:23 p.m. local time on Saturday toward the cities of Riyadh and Jazan, and that there were no deaths or injuries reported as a result of the attack.

There are currently 1,299 confirmed coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia, and eight fatalities due to the virus, as of Sunday, according to the ministry of health. -- Al Arabiya English