Saudi-led coalition says Houthi missile intercepted over Riyadh
Saudi authorities reported no casualties or damage after air defences intercepted a ballistic missile, while Houthi forces claimed attacks on sites in Riyadh and Yanbu.
Saudi-led coalition forces said air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired towards Riyadh, after Saudi authorities issued emergency alerts warning of a “hostile aerial threat”.
The coalition said attempted attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Bisha, Taif, Farasan and Yanbu were also thwarted. Saudi authorities reported no casualties or damage.
Residents reported hearing at least one explosion in Riyadh and seeing a plume of black smoke near the airport. The cause of the explosion and smoke was not independently established.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had attacked “sensitive” sites in Riyadh and an Aramco facility in Yanbu with cruise and ballistic missiles and drones. Those claims, like the coalition’s account, were not independently verified, Al Jazeera reported.
The alert was the first reported in Riyadh since fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces escalated in July. Renewed clashes have been reported in Marib, Taiz, Lahj, al-Jawf and al-Bayda, in the most intense violence since the relative calm that followed an April 2022 truce.
Saudi-backed government forces said 12 Houthi fighters were killed during an alleged infiltration attempt in southern Marib, while reporting 13 Yemeni soldiers killed in two days of clashes in Taiz and Lahj. The figures could not be independently verified.
