Saudi coalition intercepts Houthi missiles and drones fired at Riyadh and Khamis Mushait

RIYADH: Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed two drones and two ballistic missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia toward the Kingdom early on Saturday, the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen said, according to Arab News.

Coalition spokesman Col. Turki Al-Maliki said on X at 4am local time that the two drones fired toward the Riyadh area had been “intercepted and destroyed”. About 30 minutes later he announced a ballistic missile launched toward Khamis Mushayt had also been intercepted; some 20 minutes after that, a second missile aimed at the same city was destroyed.

Saudi Civil Defence had sent overnight alerts for Khamis Mushayt and Abha, though no alert was issued for Riyadh, Reuters reported. It later said the threat had been cleared in both cities, urging residents to follow safety instructions, avoid gatherings and not photograph affected sites, and gave the emergency number 998, according to Siasat.

The attacks came two days after the coalition said it had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired toward Yanbu and Taif, continuing an escalation since the Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in July, with strikes also hitting Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea.

Hours before Saturday’s launches, the military chiefs of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye met in Riyadh to review threats facing the Kingdom. The three states signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement last month, under which an armed attack on any of them is regarded as an attack on all. Early on Saturday, Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said he had reaffirmed with Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Asim Munir their continued joint efforts against attacks on the Kingdom.

The UN Security Council condemned the continued Houthi attacks. Houthi political bureau member Hezam Alasad said the operation was, in his words, “merely a small-scale rehearsal for a full-scale escalation”, Gulf News reported.

Sources

• Arab News: https://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/coalition-aid-defenses-thwart-houthi-missile-and-drone-attack-on-riyadh-and-khamis-mushayt-3003209
• Reuters (via Northland News Radio): https://northlandnewsradio.com/2026/09/25/saudi-says-it-intercepted-2-drones-launched-by-houthis-towards-riyadh/
• Gulf News live blog: https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/iran-proposes-hormuz-plan-trump-reportedly-rejects-saudi-intercepts-houthi-drones-near-riyadh-1.500688383
• Siasat: https://www.siasat.com/saudi-arabia-intercepts-two-houthi-drones-headed-for-riyadh-3548409/