On April 4, the Yemeni Missiles Force [loyal to the Houthis] announced that it had targeted a key oil storage facility of the Saudi Aramco oil company in the Saudi southern province of Jizan with a Badir-1 “ballistic missile”.
Badir-1, that was first revealed on March 22, is in fact a locally-made copy of the Iranian-made solid fuel artillery rocket, Fajir-3. The Yemeni Missiles Force claims that Badir-1 is very accurate and its speed is up to 4,5 Mach.
Meanwhile, the UAE-based al-Arabiya TV reported that the Royal Saudi Air Defense Force (RSADF) had successfully intercepted the Yemeni rocket with its Patriot surface-to-air missile systems over Jizan province. A video released by locals from Jizan proved al-Arabiya’s claim.
The Houthis appear to be targeting the oil facilities of the Saudi Aramco company on almost a weekly basis, as they conducted similar rocket attacks on March 22 and 29. These rocket attacks are likely aimed at deterring the Saudi-led coalition, which expanded its aerial operations over Yemen since the beginning of 2018.
