SRINAGAR: The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Wednesday that it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi group towards Riyadh, following air-raid warnings in the Saudi capital and the nearby Al-Kharj governorate.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement posted on X that the missile had been fired towards Riyadh by the Houthis.
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence had earlier issued alerts in Riyadh and Al-Kharj, southeast of the capital, warning residents of potential danger. The agency subsequently announced that the threat had passed in both areas.
Witnesses reported hearing four explosions in Riyadh after the alerts were issued.
The incident comes amid escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi group. Saudi authorities said early on Wednesday that debris from two cruise missiles intercepted on Tuesday had injured four people and caused minor damage to 15 houses in Riyadh.
The Saudi-led coalition also reported intercepting and destroying a cruise missile over Al-Kharj. Separately, an attack on an administrative building belonging to state oil company Saudi Aramco triggered a small fire in Dhahran, in eastern Saudi Arabia.
On Tuesday, the Houthis threatened to target Aramco’s headquarters in Dammam, Riyadh’s main airport and the company’s refinery in the Saudi capital if the Saudi-led coalition attacked their positions in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthis since 2015. The group has controlled Sanaa and several other provinces since 2014. The latest escalation began in July following the collapse of a truce that had been in place since 2022.
