RIYADH (The Thursday Times) — Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthis towards Riyadh early on Sunday, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition said, as fighting intensified on several fronts in Yemen.
“Air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi terrorist militia toward Riyadh,” coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said in a post on X. Saudi Civil Defence had earlier issued, and then lifted, an emergency alert in the capital, urging residents to follow safety instructions and to avoid gathering or filming.
On Saturday, al-Maliki said two suspected Houthi drones were intercepted and destroyed over the Riyadh and southern regions. Reports on Sunday said air defences also brought down three drones over the Eastern Province.
Attacks since September
At least 26 people have been killed in suspected Houthi drone and missile attacks in Saudi Arabia since September 23, according to the kingdom’s authorities. The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, the East-West pipeline, and oil infrastructure in the east and south of the country.
The US Embassy in Riyadh issued a nationwide security alert on Saturday, urging Americans in the kingdom to exercise heightened vigilance and to take extreme caution if they use Saudi airports. It warned that hostilities could spread rapidly. Pakistan has backed UN sanctions on the Houthis and condemned their attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Fighting in Marib and al-Jawf
The Saudi-led forces also said they intercepted several drones launched towards the Yemeni city of Marib, where fighting has intensified along with neighbouring al-Jawf. Yemeni army spokesman Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili said government forces had made gains in the al-Hazm and Madghal districts of al-Jawf. He said 321 Houthi leaders had been killed or wounded in 723 targeted operations by Saudi-backed forces in Taiz, Lahij, Marib, and al-Jawf, and that 117 military vehicles had been destroyed. These figures have not been independently verified.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the coalition had carried out 72 air strikes on Saada, Taiz, Lahij, and al-Jawf in 24 hours, and that the group had fired ballistic missiles at Saudi-backed forces in Lahij. Houthi-run media reported that two women and two children were wounded by shelling by Saudi-backed forces in a residential area of Sanaa.
More than 340,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Yemen since August, according to the International Organization for Migration.
