Saudi Arabia intercepts missiles, drones as fighting with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis continues

Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, and southern regions were targeted by drones and missiles on Sunday, according to a coalition led by the country fighting against Iran-backed Houthis. The ongoing conflict, which has intensified following the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, has turned Saudi Arabia into a strategic point of pressure in the broader war.

Civil defense authorities in Riyadh, Abha, and Khamis Mushait issued emergency alerts before confirming that the threat had subsided. The coalition reported intercepting ten ballistic missiles fired towards southern Saudi Arabia. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis threatened to target King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which resumed limited operations on Sunday after a deadly attack earlier in the month.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the assault on the airport and Saudi oil facilities on Saturday, though Saudi officials did not respond to the claims. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree designated Terminal 1 for domestic flights and Terminal 2 for international flights operated by national carriers starting Sunday, while the airport ceased operations on October 10 following an attack that killed 13 people and wounded over 300 others.

Saudi Arabia has escalated its strikes against the Houthis since the group captured strategic territory along the Red Sea coast in recent weeks, nearing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping route for Gulf oil producers. The renewed fighting has disrupted a UN-brokered truce that held since 2022, as Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa.