Published : 14 October 2026
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Updated : 14 October 2026, 05:23
Agencies
Supporters of the Houthi authorities brandish their weapons during a protest against Saudi intervention in Yemen, in Sanaa, on October 9, 2026. AFP
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) is being shuttled between heavily guarded palaces equipped with bunkers amid escalating Houthi attacks, according to reports.
Saudi Arabia faced its worst attack in a decade on Saturday after 13 were killed and at least 300 injured in an attack on Riyadh’s international airport.
President Donald Trump has said that he is considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis while Riyadh’s Makkah Pact allies have also voiced their support, reports The Independent.
Prince Salman, 41, has not been seen in public since last Tuesday when he made an appearance to give blood to support a national donation drive.
Since then, he has been shuttled between heavily guarded palaces that are equipped with bunkers, according to the Wall Street Journal citing officials familiar with his movements.
Saudi Arabia has launched an investigation to determine how its air defences failed to intercept a barrage of missiles and drones fired by Houthi rebels.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, said the initial probe showed that Houthis first fired multiple drones to pave the way for a mix of cruise and ballistic missiles to reach Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport.
The Houthis possess ballistic missiles and advanced systems fitted with warheads that can change direction during flight and pose a challenge to Patriot interceptors and other defence systems used by the Saudis, reports AP.
One of the officials said the investigation also aims to find out why air defence systems did not provide earlier warning of the attack in which the Houthi missiles and drones flew over 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) to reach Riyadh.
The incident has exposed vulnerabilities in Saudi Arabia’s defence system and signalled a dangerous inflection point in an expanding Mideast conflict that began more than seven months ago when the US and Israel launched their war against Iran.
Meanwhile, Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV yesterday reported an attack on the Yemen Oil Company in Sanaa.
The attack came shortly after the Saudi-led coalition ordered the evacuation of the facility ahead of a military operation.
Houthis also warned yesterday they would target Riyadh’s airport, a refinery, and an Aramco facility in Dammam if the Saudi-led coalition follows through on its threat to strike an oil facility in Sanaa.
Saudi Arabia has in recent weeks launched strikes against the Houthis and is backing a Yemeni government counteroffensive after the group seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.