Watch: Saudi fighter jets shoot down a Houthi drone in air-to-air kill


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The grainy footage shows the flying craft clearly in bright white against the greyscale static of the background. The steady crosshairs follow the drone as it speeds through the landscape before zooming out in time for the explosion to fill the screen.

A jet fighter from the Saudi-led Coalition in Yemen had just brought down another Houthi explosive drone being fired at the kingdom.

The footage, recently released by the Coalition, comes after the Yemeni rebels aimed at the heart of the kingdom's oil industry with a drone attack on Ras Tanura Aramco oil terminal at one of the world's biggest oil ports and a rocket attack on another depot in Dhahran city in the country's east on Sunday night.

Like the drone in the footage, the kingdom's defences managed to bring both down. But the attacks are a major escalation and underscore the uptick in such needle attacks by the Yemeni rebels on Saudi Arabia.

Attacks on the kingdom - in pictures 

  • Civil defence personnel surround a crater in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jazan, after a projectile was fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen. SPA via AP
    Civil defence personnel surround a crater in the Saudi Arabian port city of Jazan, after a projectile was fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen. SPA via AP
  • A damaged shop in Jazan, south-west Saudi Arabia, after a projectile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen hit the area. SPA via AP
    A damaged shop in Jazan, south-west Saudi Arabia, after a projectile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen hit the area. SPA via AP
  • Damage to a home in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, caused by debris from a ballistic missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels. SPA via AP
    Damage to a home in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, caused by debris from a ballistic missile launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels. SPA via AP
  • The remnants of a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels, on a house rooftop in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh. SPA via AP
    The remnants of a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels, on a house rooftop in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh. SPA via AP
  • Houthi supporters protest against the US administration and the Saudi-led coalition, in Yemen's capital Sanaa. EPA
    Houthi supporters protest against the US administration and the Saudi-led coalition, in Yemen's capital Sanaa. EPA
  • A fighter loyal to Yemen's Houthi rebels at the funeral of rebels killed in clashes with government troops. AFP
    A fighter loyal to Yemen's Houthi rebels at the funeral of rebels killed in clashes with government troops. AFP
  • Fighters loyal to Yemen's Houthi rebels chant slogans as they travel to the funeral of rebels killed in fighting with government troops. AFP
    Fighters loyal to Yemen's Houthi rebels chant slogans as they travel to the funeral of rebels killed in fighting with government troops. AFP
  • Tribesmen loyal to the Houthi rebels brandish rocket-propelled grenade launchers at a gathering in Yemen's capital Sanaa. AFP
    Tribesmen loyal to the Houthi rebels brandish rocket-propelled grenade launchers at a gathering in Yemen's capital Sanaa. AFP

On Sunday alone, the rebels fired 12 drones at the kingdom and every day since last Tuesday, the Houthis have tried to hit civilian, military and oil facilities in the kingdom.

Riyadh has condemned the repeated attacks like that in the footage released on Sunday, which showed a Houthi Qasef drone the Saudi authorities said was targeting civilians.

Many of the kingdom's allies and states in the Middle East and the west have also condemned such attacks. The UN has said the attacks are "deeply concerning" and the US has vowed to help bolster Saudi defences.