Saudi coalition intercepts Houthi missile aimed at Riyadh as airport attacks resume

The Saudi-led military coalition said on Monday it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthis towards Riyadh, after the group claimed a new attack on the capital’s King Khalid International Airport.

Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki said air defences intercepted the missile and destroyed two missile launchers in Sanaa. “We continue the process of dismantling the ballistic missile network of the terrorist Houthi militia,” Al-Malki wrote on X.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Monday the group had “successfully targeted” the airport with a ballistic missile and struck oil pumping stations with drones. He also claimed operations in Aden and Lahj governorates that caused “dozens of casualties”. The coalition did not confirm any airport impact, and the competing claims could not be independently verified.

The exchange came a day after explosions rattled Riyadh and authorities sent residents text messages warning of a “hostile aerial threat”. The coalition said on Sunday it intercepted at least 10 ballistic missiles, and civil defence said two people were injured in the south by falling debris.

Flights at King Khalid International Airport had only resumed on Sunday after a closure that forced the postponement of the kingdom’s flagship investment conference until 2027. The Houthis had warned the airport remained “unsafe” and a military target. An attack on the airport earlier this month killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade.

Sources: AFP via Channel NewsAsia, https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/saudi-houthis-riyadh-airport-attack-missile-6492261 ; The Hindu, https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/intercepted-missile-after-houthis-hit-riyadh-airport-says-saudi-coalition/article71625586.ece