IS claims Riyadh bomb blast

Published February 9, 2016

DUBAI/RIYADH: An explosion damaged some cars in the Saudi capital on Monday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The militant Islamic State (IS) group said it had been caused by a bomb one of its members had affixed to the vehicle.

A police spokesman said a citizen had reported that his car parked in front of his house in the city’s Al Azizia district had been damaged by the explosion in the morning.

There were no injuries but the windows of some nearby vehicles were also shattered.

In a statement released on a social messaging platform, an IS ‘news agency’ said the blast was caused by a “sticky bomb” attached to the vehicle of a member of the Saudi armed forces, the SITE monitoring service reported.

MISSILE: Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian air defences intercepted a Scud missile fired at Khamis Mushait city where a major airbase is located.

Roughly 100km from the Yemeni border, the King Khalid Air Base, near the city, is at the forefront of Saudi-led air operations against Houthi rebels and elite troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen.

The interception occurred at about 3am, Brig Gen Ahmed al Assiri, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, told AFP.

“They are still targeting the cities,” he said.

Saudi Arabia has deployed Patriot missile batteries designed to counter tactical ballistic missiles, which have been fired occasionally since March when the coalition began air strikes in support of the Yemeni government after the Houthis seized much of the country.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2016

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