RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The Houthi missiles fired at Riyadh early Tuesday were destroyed before they could hit the capital, the Saudi-led coalition said, in the second attack of its kind in three days.
One was ballistic, the other a cruise missile. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki posted the news on X himself.
Riyadh residents had already been warned by phone to shelter from an aerial threat before the announcement came, and Saudi Civil Defence later told them the danger was over. AFP reported that several explosions were heard across the city. No casualties were reported.
A third missile was stopped in the south. The coalition said a separate ballistic missile launched towards Saudi Arabia’s southern region was also intercepted and destroyed. Civil Defence warnings had gone out in the southwestern cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait as well, and those were lifted too.
A drone over the Eastern Province was also brought down, the coalition said later. Most of Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas sits in that province, and Saudi Aramco has its headquarters there.
Reported Strikes on Sanaa
The Houthi-run Saba news agency said Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes on Sanaa, Yemen’s Houthi-controlled capital. According to Saba, the strikes hit the al-Mufazir gas station in the Jadar district, north of the capital, and a building belonging to the state oil company in southern Sanaa, and civil defence teams were putting out a fire in gas trailers at the station.
Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the reported strikes. The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the missile and drone launches.
A Second Attack in Three Days
Early Sunday, missiles intercepted over Riyadh rained debris on an Aramco office building in the King Abdullah Financial District. Saudi officials put the damage down as limited and said no one was killed or injured.
On Monday, the kingdom’s East-West oil pipeline was targeted in the Medina region. The Energy Ministry said a limited fire broke out, was quickly put out and did not affect operations.
Why now is no mystery. In September the Houthis pushed towards the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where the Red Sea narrows at its southern end, and the fight with the coalition that backs Yemen’s recognised government has been climbing since. Houthi strikes on Saudi airports, ports and oil sites have picked up alongside the wider U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Riyadh has hit back from the air inside Yemen — near Sanaa on Saturday, in raids the Houthi-run health ministry says killed at least 33 people.