A drone attack targeting the Saudi capital Riyadh was attempted on the 13th, as fighting escalates between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels.
Turki al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition and for the Saudi Defense Ministry, said on the social media platform X that forces had shot down three unmanned aerial vehicles over northern Riyadh. He did not say who carried out the attack or whether there was any damage. In a separate message, he said the coalition would soon issue an evacuation warning to civilians in one area of Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, ahead of a special operation.
The Houthis responded with a statement warning that any attack on Sanaa would be met with harsh and painful retaliation against Riyadh.
The Houthis also said earlier that Saudi Arabia had carried out retaliatory airstrikes on northern Yemen. According to the Houthi-run Al Masirah television, coalition forces struck Saada province, the rebels' northern stronghold, at least three times on the morning of the 13th, after hitting northern and western areas the previous night. Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, said the group had shot down a Saudi armed drone that was carrying out a hostile mission over Saada.
A day earlier, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh that was intercepted by the Saudi-led coalition. Witnesses reported hearing three explosions in Riyadh that were believed to be the sound of the interception.
Ground fighting between Saudi-backed government forces and the rebels is also intensifying inside Yemen. The Yemeni government said clashes between the Houthis and government and coalition forces continued in Taiz province through the morning, and that fighter jets struck rebel facilities nine times.
The Houthis have been escalating attacks on Saudi airports and major oil facilities. In recent days they have focused on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, in strikes that killed at least 14 people and injured more than 300 — the heaviest casualties reported in years.
