Saudi-led coalition says it shot down missiles and drones targeting Riyadh

The Saudi-led coalition announced it intercepted two ballistic missiles and two drones launched toward Riyadh, which it said were fired by Yemen’s Houthi militia.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al‑Maliki posted on X early on Sunday that air defences destroyed the missiles, adding that the drones were intercepted in the Riyadh and southern regions on Saturday.

Since 23 September, Saudi authorities have recorded at least 26 deaths from suspected Houthi drone and missile attacks across the kingdom, with the capital’s King Khalid International Airport, the East‑West pipeline and oil facilities repeatedly targeted.

In Yemen, the coalition reported intercepting several drones aimed at the city of Marib and said its forces had made gains in the al‑Hazm and Madghal districts of al‑Jawf as fighting intensified in Marib.

Yemeni army spokesman Colonel Majid al‑Nuzaili claimed 321 Houthi leaders were killed or wounded in 723 targeted operations across Taiz, Lahij, Marib and al‑Jawf, and that 117 rebel vehicles had been destroyed. The coalition carried out at least 37 air strikes, 56 drone attacks and 541 artillery strikes.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree countered that the coalition had launched 72 air strikes on Houthi positions in Saada, Taiz, Lahij and al‑Jawf in the previous 24 hours, and that Houthi forces fired ballistic missiles at Saudi‑backed troops in Lahij’s Kharaz area.

The International Organization for Migration says more than 340,000 Yemenis have been displaced since August. The US Embassy in Riyadh issued a nationwide security alert, urging Americans to exercise heightened vigilance amid the escalating threat.

Source: Al Jazeera. Photo: Rafael Minguet Delgado / Pexels.