An air defence system operated by Greek military personnel in Saudi Arabia intercepted a swarm of drones on Thursday in the wider Yanbu region, home to major oil refining facilities, Greek security sources told Reuters.
Greece has deployed a U.S.-made Patriot air defence battery, operated by Greek personnel, in Saudi Arabia since 2021 © Mena Today
An air defence system operated by Greek military personnel in Saudi Arabia intercepted a swarm of drones on Thursday in the wider Yanbu region, home to major oil refining facilities, Greek security sources told Reuters.
It was the third time the Greek-operated system has been used in combat since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began, underscoring the widening military role of European allies in defending Gulf energy infrastructure.
"The battery engaged the drones in coordination with Saudi air defence systems," one of the sources said, adding that the Greek Patriot system launched three missiles, without detailing the number of drones downed or their origin.
A second source confirmed the information.
Greece has deployed a U.S.-made Patriot air defence battery, operated by Greek personnel, in Saudi Arabia since 2021 under an agreement to help protect the kingdom's energy facilities.
Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas
Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense lifted an alert it had announced in the southern city of Khamis Mushait on Wednesday, a day after Houthi attacks there and in three other nearby cities wounded 73 people and set oil installations ablaze.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said it fired ballistic missiles at a base in Jordan used by the U.S. military and attacked 10 ships on Wednesday, after the U.S. said it had destroyed five Iranian oil tankers, in a sharp escalation of the six-month-old war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to consolidate Israel's fractious right-wing parties ahead of a Tuesday deadline in order to avoid an election loss forecast by opinion polls.
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