Saudi coalition says intercepted Houthi drones headed for Riyadh

The Saudi-led coalition has intercepted drones and missiles launched by the Houthi rebels towards Saudi Arabia. According to the coalition, two drones headed for Riyadh and two ballistic missiles targeting the city of Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia were shot down. The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have been launching increasing attacks on Saudi cities and shipping, further heightening tensions in the Middle East.

The Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in July and have been targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea. The attacks have targeted Saudi cities, energy infrastructure, and shipping, adding to pressures on global oil supplies. The Saudi civil defence had sent alerts overnight for Khamis Mushait and Abha but not for Riyadh.

The military chiefs of Saudi Arabia and defence allies Pakistan and Turkey reviewed threats facing Saudi Arabia at a meeting in the Saudi capital, having signed the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement last month. The agreement stated that they would regard an armed attack on any of them to be an attack on all. According to the United Nations, more than 122,000 people have been displaced by the escalation of conflict across Yemen, with 674 people dying and 2,998 injured between 6 August and 18 September.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Times of Israel, Euronews, Business Recorder, Jerusalem Post, Times of India — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.