Riyadh missile intercepted, Saudi coalition says

The Saudi-led coalition said Saturday that Yemen's Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh at dawn and that Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed it, after residents reported blasts in the Saudi capital.

A coalition spokesperson wrote on X that the Houthis also tried to target civilians and civilian infrastructure in Bisha, Taif, Farasan and Yanbu, and that the attacks were thwarted by air defences.

The statement added a Saudi-side account to earlier Houthi claims of operations against Saudi targets. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said earlier Saturday that the group used ballistic and cruise missiles and drones in one operation targeting “sensitive sites” in Riyadh and another targeting Aramco facilities in Yanbu.

An AFP journalist saw firefighters extinguishing a blaze on a fuel tank bearing the Aramco logo at a fuel depot near Riyadh's international airport. FlightRadar24 reported “major problems” at Riyadh King Khalid International Airport before normal traffic began to resume.

Saudi authorities had issued an overnight air raid alert, and residents later told AFP they heard what sounded like explosions across parts of Riyadh. The incident came amid intensified fighting in Yemen, where the internationally recognised government is backed by Saudi Arabia.