Israeli air force deploys first laser interception system

JERUSALEM, Dec 29 (AFP): Israel's defence ministry said on Sunday it had deployed a new "Iron Beam" laser system for the air force to intercept aerial threats.

The laser system's main developers, the ministry's research and development department and defence contractor Rafael, delivered it to the air force at a ceremony in northern Israel.

"For the first time globally, a high-power laser interception system has achieved full operational maturity, successfully executing multiple interceptions," Defence Minister Israel Katz said at the ceremony, according to a statement.

"This monumental achievement... delivers a critical message to our enemies, near and far alike: do not challenge us, or face severe consequences," he said.

Meanwhile, the leader of Yemen's Houthi rebels warned that any Israeli presence in Somaliland would be considered a "military target", according to a statement published Sunday, in the latest condemnation of Israel's move to recognise the breakaway region.

"We consider any Israeli presence in Somaliland a military target for our armed forces, as it constitutes aggression against Somalia and Yemen, and a threat to the security of the region," said the group's chief Abdulmalik al-Houthi.

Israel on Friday announced that it was officially recognising Somaliland, a first for the self-proclaimed republic that in 1991 declared it had unilaterally separated from Somalia. The Houthi chief warned that the move carried grave consequences, saying recognition was "a hostile stance targeting Somalia and its African surroundings, as well as Yemen, the Red Sea, and the countries along both shores of the Red Sea".