Houthis fire two ballistic missiles at Riyadh, Saudi coalition says
The coalition blamed Yemen's Houthis for the launch; it was not immediately clear if anyone was hurt.
Early Sunday, Saudi-led coalition air defenses destroyed two ballistic missiles that Yemen’s Houthis fired toward Riyadh, the coalition said. The previous day, it had reported intercepting drones over the Riyadh region.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki wrote on X that the “Houthi terrorist militia” launched the missiles. Al Jazeera described the Houthis as their alleged source, as fighting intensifies on multiple fronts in Yemen.
Civilians in both Yemen and Saudi Arabia have been affected. Saudi authorities say suspected Houthi missile and drone strikes have killed 26 or more people in the kingdom since Sept. 23. Inside Yemen, more than 340,000 people have been displaced by fighting since August, the International Organization for Migration said.
In Sanaa, the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital, Houthi-affiliated media said Saudi-backed forces shelled a residential neighborhood in the Shuaub district, injuring two women and two children, according to Al Jazeera.
It was not immediately clear whether anyone was hurt or property damaged on the ground during Sunday’s interceptions, or whether the Houthis had claimed the Riyadh launch.
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh had issued a nationwide security alert Saturday, urging Americans in Saudi Arabia to exercise “heightened vigilance” because the threat of Houthi attacks had increased. The embassy said attacks on civilian facilities, including airports, had “caused civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions.”
The embassy warned that hostilities could spread “rapidly.” It said, “Please take extreme caution if you choose to use airports in Saudi Arabia.”
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, along with the East-West pipeline and oil infrastructure in eastern and southern Saudi Arabia.
On Saturday, al-Maliki said air defenses intercepted and destroyed two suspected Houthi drones over the Riyadh and southern regions. The coalition, which supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government, separately said it had intercepted several drones headed for the Yemeni city of Marib.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the coalition had launched 72 air strikes across the Saada, Taiz, Lahij and al-Jawf governorates over the past 24 hours. He said Houthi forces had used ballistic missiles to target Saudi-backed troops in Lahij’s Kharaz area.
Yemen’s government army said its forces made advances against the Houthis during heavy fighting in al-Jawf’s al-Hazm and Madghal districts, as fighting intensified in Marib, spokesman Col. Majid al-Nuzaili said. He said Saudi-backed forces carried out 723 targeted operations across Taiz, Lahij, Marib and al-Jawf governorates, killing or wounding 321 Houthi leaders.
