RIYADH — Arab Coalition said early Thursday it had intercepted and destroyed two explosive-laden drones targeting the southern region of Saudi Arabia.

In a statement carried by Saudi Press Agency, the coalition spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki said: “The Joint Coalition Forces have intercepted and destroyed this morning (Thursday) a bomb-laden drone launched systematically and deliberately by the terrorist Houthi militia to target civilians and civilian facilities in the southern region.”

The drone attack comes after the coalition's naval forces destroyed two explosive-laden boats south of the Red Sea launched by the Houthi militia on Wednesday.

The Houthi militia has stepped up cross-border drone attacks recently in blatant defiance of the international humanitarian law and its customary rules. — SG