The key facts
- The coalition intercepted two ballistic and two cruise missiles aimed at Riyadh and Saudi Arabia's southern region
- The Houthis claimed six operations, including targets in Riyadh, Huraymila and Dawadmi
- Fighting resumed in July, destroying the truce that had held since 2022
Interception over Riyadh
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition announced on Sundaythat it had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by Yemen's Houthis toward Riyadh. Loud explosions were heard in the Saudi capital; shortly before them, Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense issued a warning for the Riyadh region, according to a Reuters witness. Authorities later said the threat had passed. The coalition soon added that it had also intercepted and destroyed two cruise missiles targeting Riyadh and the country's southern region.
Houthi statements and preceding events
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Saturday, the day before, that the group had carried out six operations using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones against targets in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. According to him, the attacks targeted King Khalid International Airport and Aramco facilities in Riyadh and Huraymila, as well as pump station No. 8 in Dawadmi; he also claimed strikes on Saudi forces in Najran and in the Yemeni provinces of Al-Jawf and Marib, saying they caused numerous casualties. These statements were reported by The National; the Saudi side did not confirm them in the cited publications.
Context: the truce has collapsed
The resumption of fighting shattered the UN-brokered truce that had largely held since 2022 — after Saudi Arabia led a coalition of Arab states in 2015 to restore the internationally recognized government following the Houthis' capture of Sanaa. Since fighting resumed in July, the Houthis have attacked Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities with missiles and drones, while Saudi Arabia has carried out airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen. The conflict, as The National notes, has become one of the fronts of the broader Middle East war triggered by US and Israeli attacks on Iran in February. The interception incident occurred a day after the Houthi-controlled Yemeni health ministry reported that at least 33 people had been killed in Saudi airstrikes near Sanaa; Saudi authorities said they were reviewing reports of those strikes.
