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Houthis Claim Missile, Drone Strikes on Riyadh; Saudis Down One

3 hours ago

Iran-backed Houthis say they hit Riyadh and Yanbu with missiles and drones. Saudi Arabia intercepted a ballistic missile as fuel tanks burned near the airport.

Iran-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen said on Saturday that they launched a wave of drones and ballistic missiles at the Saudi capital, Riyadh, along with energy installations on the kingdom's Red Sea coast. Saudi authorities confirmed that their forces shot down one ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh, but did not acknowledge any other hits or report casualties.

Before that confirmation, a thick pillar of black smoke was seen climbing from fuel tanks close to Riyadh's international airport, where flights were briefly thrown into disorder. It marked the first time sirens warning of an air attack had rung out across the capital since the Houthis stepped up their campaign against Saudi Arabia in July.

Several loud blasts were reported in Riyadh, and King Khalid International Airport ran into serious disruption. The tracking service FlightRadar24 logged delays and cancellations at the hub. An AFP journalist on the scene described firefighters working to put out a blaze in a gutted fuel tank owned by the state oil producer Aramco. Overnight, the Saudi Civil Defence had already pushed phone alerts to residents, warning of a possible threat over the capital.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya al-Sarea said in an online post that his forces had fired a heavy volley of ballistic and cruise missiles together with drones at what he called sensitive locations in Riyadh, as well as Aramco sites in the coastal city of Yanbu. He framed the operation as retaliation for what he termed criminal Saudi efforts to strike Sanaa, the Yemeni capital now under Houthi control. Days earlier, Sarea had said Saudi Arabia carried out 300 strikes across Yemen over the previous week.

A spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition said air defences had also blocked what were described as hostile attempts to hit civilians in the cities of Bish, Taif, Farasan and Yanbu.

Washington warns travellers

The US State Department told Americans across the Middle East to stay alert and to brace for possible flight cancellations and other travel troubles. Its statement said Iranian-supported Houthis had opened hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including against civilian airports, and warned that the confrontation could spiral quickly. It advised US citizens to seriously reconsider any travel to or through the region.

Deadly ground fighting

The Houthis remain at war with Yemen's internationally recognised government, which draws support from Saudi Arabia. They have reached across the border to strike Saudi targets repeatedly in recent months, and this week they claimed to have brought down a Saudi fighter jet over Yemeni territory.

The ground war also turned bloody on Saturday. Citing military sources on both sides of Yemen's conflict, AFP reported - in an account that could not be independently verified - that clashes between Houthi forces and government troops left 48 people dead in a single day. The Houthis put their own losses at 31 fighters, while government sources said 17 of their soldiers had been killed, according to the agency.

The human toll of the latest round of combat continues to climb. On Friday, the International Organization for Migration, a United Nations agency, said the number of people forced from their homes by recent fighting had risen above 104,796.

Saudi Arabia has not released details on damage at the airport fuel facility or at the Yanbu sites named by the Houthis, and it has not spoken publicly about the wider claims made by Sarea beyond confirming the single intercepted missile aimed at Riyadh.

Houthi Riyadh attack, Saudi Arabia ballistic missile, King Khalid International Airport, Aramco Yanbu, Yemen civil war, Yahya al-Sarea, Houthi drone strike, Saudi air defences

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