Coalition intercepts Houthi missile aimed at Riyadh
The Saudi-led coalition says air defences intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh early on Saturday, after two explosions were heard in the capital.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Saturday it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched towards Riyadh by the Iran-backed group, according to AFP reporting carried by Malay Mail (https://www.malaymail.com/amp/news/world/2026/10/24/riyadh-wakes-to-blasts-as-houthis-keep-up-missile-strikes-on-saudi-arabia/240413).
Two explosions rang out in Riyadh early on Saturday, an AFP journalist in the Saudi capital said. Saudi civil defence said its National Early Warning Platform had sent alerts to residents in Riyadh, Najran and Wadi al-Dawasir, advising people to stay calm, shelter indoors away from windows and follow official instructions, according to The Siasat Daily (https://www.siasat.com/two-explosions-heard-in-riyadh-after-missile-warning-issued-3563418/amp/). Civil defence later said on X that the danger had passed in all three locations.
“Air defences intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi terrorist militia toward Riyadh,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki posted on X. Al-Malki said in an earlier post on Saturday that a drone was also intercepted in the country’s Eastern Province.
No casualties were reported in the accounts published so far.
Saudi Arabia has come under sustained attack from the Iran-backed group this month, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport that was the country’s deadliest in years, AFP reported. Tehran has denied involvement after Saudi Arabia accused Iran of encouraging the group’s escalation, and fighting in Yemen reignited in July after an uneasy four-year truce, according to The Business Standard (https://www.tbsnews.net/worldbiz/middle-east/saudi-led-coalition-intercepts-ballistic-missile-launched-towards-riyadh).
Sources:
- AFP via Malay Mail: https://www.malaymail.com/amp/news/world/2026/10/24/riyadh-wakes-to-blasts-as-houthis-keep-up-missile-strikes-on-saudi-arabia/240413
- The Siasat Daily: https://www.siasat.com/two-explosions-heard-in-riyadh-after-missile-warning-issued-3563418/amp/
- The Business Standard: https://www.tbsnews.net/worldbiz/middle-east/saudi-led-coalition-intercepts-ballistic-missile-launched-towards-riyadh
- Al Jazeera liveblog (24 Oct 2026): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/10/24/iran-war-live-israel-launches-targeted-hebron-operation-after-attack?update=5078287
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