Arab News | Coalition destroys Houthi missile launchers in Sanaa after foiled attack on Riyadh

RIYADH: The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Monday it had destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa, including one used to fire a missile toward Riyadh that Saudi air defenses intercepted.

Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, announced the operation in posts on X, saying the coalition had destroyed the two launch platforms.

“Operations continue to dismantle the terrorist Houthi militia’s ballistic missile network,” Al-Maliki said in a separate post.

The counterstrike followed an overnight missile attack on Riyadh that was intercepted and destroyed by Saudi air defenses, according to the coalition.

Residents of the Saudi capital were awakened by a Civil Defense alert on their mobile phones at 3:42 a.m. local time, warning of a potential “aerial threat.” A subsequent alert issued minutes later said the threat had passed.

Al-Maliki later confirmed that a ballistic missile launched toward Riyadh by Yemen’s Houthi militia had been intercepted and destroyed.

The latest exchange came amid an intensifying campaign of Houthi missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, with projectiles targeting the capital, southern cities and areas in western Saudi Arabia, including locations near the holy city of Makkah.

On Sunday, Saudi authorities reported that debris from two intercepted ballistic missiles had injured a Saudi citizen and an Asian expatriate resident in Khamis Mushayt and Ahad Rafidah. Three residential buildings and seven vehicles were damaged, according to a Civil Defense spokesperson.

The incidents followed interceptions on Saturday, when missile debris fell at several locations in western Saudi Arabia, including Wadi Al-Mughammas, about 20 kilometers from the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Other debris landed in Jeddah’s Al-Nuzha neighborhood, Wadi Jalil in Taif and the Masturah Center in Rabigh governorate. Authorities did not report casualties from those incidents.

The coalition said on Sunday that its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed two drones and a ballistic missile launched toward Riyadh, as well as a cruise missile targeting the southern city of Khamis Mushayt. It subsequently announced the interception of 10 ballistic missiles fired toward southern Saudi Arabia.

The barrage followed a series of attacks on Saturday involving ballistic missiles aimed at Taif, Yanbu and Riyadh, as well as a drone targeting the Eastern Region, according to the coalition.

Attacks raise concerns over holy sites

The repeated attacks toward western Saudi Arabia have heightened concerns over the security of Islam’s holiest sites.

Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, president of Religious Affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, condemned the Houthi strikes toward the Makkah and Madinah regions on Sunday, describing the security and sanctity of the Two Holy Mosques as a “red line that must not be breached.”

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, Al-Sudais said the attacks demonstrated the militia’s hostile intentions toward Muslims and their sacred places. He described the strikes as violations of Shariah principles protecting sacred sites and of international humanitarian norms.

Saudi air defenses have continued to intercept incoming missiles and drones as the Houthis intensify their cross-border attacks, which have targeted civilian areas, airports and energy infrastructure.

The renewed attacks also came as authorities began a partial reopening of Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, following a deadly strike on Oct. 10 that killed 13 people and injured more than 300, according to previous Arab News reporting.

Airport officials said Terminal 1 had resumed limited domestic operations and Terminal 2 international flights operated by national carriers, advising passengers to confirm their travel arrangements before heading to the airport.

The latest interception and the destruction of the launchers in Sanaa underscore the continuing threat posed by the Houthis’ missile network as Saudi forces seek to prevent further attacks on the Kingdom.