Saudis say they stopped Houthi missile at Riyadh
Houthis in Yemen said they fired a missile at Riyadh's main airport on Monday after flights resumed. The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed the missile before it reached the capital and hit Houthi launchers in Yemen. No one was reported hurt in the Monday missile attack.
Houthis in Yemen said they fired a missile at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Monday. The claim came hours after commercial flights resumed. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree also said drones hit Saudi oil pumping stations. ABC News and AFP reported his claim.
The Saudi-led coalition said the missile never reached the capital. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said air defenses stopped and destroyed a Houthi missile headed for Riyadh. He said coalition jets also hit Houthi missile launch sites, storage sites, and tunnels in Yemen. AFP said the coalition destroyed two missile launchers in Sanaa. The Houthi hit claim and the coalition intercept claim have not been checked by outside reporters.
Saudi civil defense warned Riyadh of danger, then said the threat had passed, ABC News reported. No one was reported hurt by the Monday missile on the counted pages. The airport had only just reopened after earlier Houthi attacks. One strike this month killed 13 people and hurt more than 300. AFP called it the deadliest attack in the kingdom in more than a decade.
A long Yemen truce broke down in the summer. Fighting has grown between Saudi-backed Yemeni forces and the Houthis. That shift came as the wider US-Iran war that began in February rolled on. The Houthis have hit Saudi military sites, oil sites, and travel hubs again and again. Airport closures forced Saudi Arabia to push its big investment conference to 2027. Thousands of travelers lost plans.
Saree had warned travelers that the Riyadh airport was still a military target even as flights restarted. Monday's exchange fits that pattern. The Houthis claim a precise hit. The coalition claims an intercept plus strikes on launch gear. Separate Monday talks in Tehran by Saudi, Turkish, and Pakistani envoys are covered in today's envoys card. They are not repeated here.
What we know: Houthis claimed a Monday missile attack on Riyadh's airport. The Saudi-led coalition said it stopped the missile and hit Houthi launchers in Yemen.
What we don't: Outside proof of either the hit claim or the intercept and launcher damage, and whether oil sites were hit.
Where outlets agree ABC News and AFP report Houthis claimed a Monday missile attack on Riyadh's airport and the Saudi-led coalition said it stopped the missile.
Where they differ Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the missile hit the airport. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said air defenses destroyed it before it reached Riyadh.