Saudi-led coalition intercepts two Houthi missiles fired towards Riyadh

On Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition reported successfully intercepting and destroying two ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-aligned Houthi group towards Riyadh. Prior to the explosions, the Saudi Civil Defence had issued an alert for the Riyadh region, according to a Reuters witness. Authorities later declared the threat had subsided.

The coalition also claimed to have intercepted and destroyed two cruise missiles aimed at Riyadh and the southern region of Saudi Arabia. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree stated on Saturday that the group had carried out six operations employing ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, against Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

These attacks targeted Khalid International Airport and Aramco facilities in Riyadh, Pumping Station No. 8 in Dawadmi, and Houthi forces struck Saudi troops in Najran, along with Houthi assaults in Yemen's Al-Jawf and Ma'rib provinces, resulting in numerous deaths and injuries.

This resurgence of hostilities has shattered a UN-brokered truce that had been largely intact since 2022. Saudi Arabia had led a coalition of Arab states into Yemen in 2015 to reinstate the internationally recognized government after the Houthis seized control of Sanaa. The conflict has since become a battleground in the wider Middle East war ignited by US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

Since the resumption of hostilities in July, the Houthis have targeted Saudi airports, ports, and oil facilities with missiles and drones. In response, Saudi Arabia has conducted airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The most recent incident occurred the day after Yemen's Houthi-run health ministry reported that Saudi airstrikes had killed at least 33 people near Sanaa. Saudi authorities disclosed they were investigating the reported strikes.