Saudi Arabia tests siren after Yemen rebels fire new missiles

Saudi Arabia says it tested a new siren system for the capital Riyadh and oil-rich Eastern Province, a day after Yemeni rebels fired three ballistic missiles at the kingdom.

The Saudi civil defense posts a video on its official site of the alarm system being tested. It says in a statement the system was designed to “face risks of all kinds” and alert the population “in case of emergency.”

Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi rebels have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against neighboring Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition against them.

The Shiite insurgents announced they had fired two ballistic missiles at Riyadh and a third at the southern city of Jizan near the border, on Wednesday alone.

Riyadh has long accused Tehran of supplying the rebels with ballistic missiles, a charge the latter rejects.

— AFP