Yemen’s Houthi group said Monday it had launched a ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh and carried out a separate drone strike on an airbase in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
In a statement on social media platform X, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the group targeted the airport on Monday evening with a ballistic missile, claiming the missile “accurately hit” the target.
He said the group also launched a drone attack on King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, claiming a direct hit.
Explosions were heard in the Saudi capital around the time of the reported attack, and residents received alerts via mobile apps.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said in a statement on Monday evening that its forces had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile launched toward Riyadh.
The latest attacks came amid a sharp escalation in Yemen’s long-running conflict, with fighting intensifying on several fronts between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces, and cross-border attacks increasing in recent days.
A Saturday Houthi strike on a terminal at King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and injured 309 others, according to the Saudi aviation authority.
The authority said Monday it had extended the suspension of operations at the Riyadh airport.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the Yemeni government. The renewed fighting marked a major escalation after a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities. ■