Saudi-led coalition intercepts Houthi missile launched towards Riyadh
Saudi civil defence authority says danger passed after it issued alerts via its national early warning platform.
Key points
- Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile fired towards Riyadh.
- Houthis claim attacks on Aramco sites in Dhahran and Riyadh and on King Khalid airport.
- Weekend strikes on King Khalid international airport killed 14 and wounded over 300.
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile launched towards Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital, according to coalition spokesman Major-General Turki al-Maliki, who announced the interception on Wednesday on X.
The reported interception came days after two separate strikes hit Riyadh's King Khalid international airport, killing 14 people and injuring hundreds, and after Saudi Civil Defence issued two alerts through its national early warning platform, one for Al-Kharj governorate in Riyadh province and one for the capital, later saying the danger had passed.
Houthi claims and Aramco
The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, said they targeted facilities of Saudi Arabia's national oil company Aramco in Dhahran, an Aramco refinery in Riyadh, and King Khalid international airport.
Overnight, the Saudi Ministry of Energy confirmed that the administrative building belonging to Aramco in Dhahran was hit. Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi, reporting from Doha, said any notion that the Saudi-led coalition could contain the conflict to Yemen had been shattered over the last 10 days, which saw several sites in Saudi Arabia targeted.
the criminal approach of this terrorist militia in deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure
— Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa
Fighting and reactions
Houthi attacks on King Khalid international airport over the weekend killed 14 people and wounded more than 300 others. Attacks were also reported on other airports, including Abha international airport, where two people were killed, and on Aramco facilities.
Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have launched a counteroffensive in Yemen to retake coastal territory from the Houthis near the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Fighting escalated sharply last month, shattering a United Nations-brokered ceasefire that had largely held since 2022. The Muslim World League condemned the continued Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, and its secretary-general, Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, said their nature confirms "the criminal approach of this terrorist militia in deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure". Yemen's Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television reported that four air strikes hit the Harib district in Marib governorate, with results not immediately clear.
