Saudi Arabia says it intercepted a missile fired by the Houthis towards Riyadh

The Saudi-led military coalition announced Saturday evening that it had intercepted a missile fired by the Houthis of Yemen towards Riyadh, where explosions had been heard at dawn, for the first time since the resumption of hostilities between the kingdom and these pro-Iranian fighters.

Saudi Arabia has been suffering increasing attacks in recent days from the Houthis who control a large part of neighboring Yemen and are fighting Yemeni government forces, supported by the Riyadh-led coalition.

Loud explosions rocked the Saudi capital overnight, following warning messages sent to residents by authorities, according to AFP journalists.

Several hours later, residents told AFP they heard another series of explosions. "We saw black smoke and flames towards the airport," one of them said.

"I heard the alert, then my windows shook," testifies another 27-year-old resident from the north of the capital, who did not wish to give his name.

- Column of black smoke -

Images circulating online and verified by AFP show a column of black smoke rising above airport buildings.

Firefighters extinguished a fire on a fuel tank bearing the logo of Saudi oil giant Aramco near the airport in the afternoon, according to an AFP journalist.

In the evening, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, which supports the Yemeni government against the Houthis, said on X that a missile fired at dawn by these fighters towards Riyadh had been intercepted and destroyed.

According to him, the Houthis also attempted to target "civilians and civilian property" in several cities in the west of the kingdom, including the Red Sea port of Yanbu, from which Riyadh exports oil. He claimed that these attacks had been "thwarted."

In a statement published on Telegram, the Houthi military spokesman indicated that they had carried out two attacks with missiles and drones.

"The first targeted sensitive sites in Riyadh, and the second targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu," added Yahya Saree.

Until now, Houthi strikes against the kingdom had primarily targeted oil facilities and military bases in the south or along the Red Sea coast. The capital had not been threatened since the resumption of hostilities with the pro-Iranian fighters in July.

Riyadh, on the other hand, was hit at the height of the regional war triggered at the end of February by the American-Israeli attack on Iran, which retaliated by launching attacks against the Gulf countries, allies of the United States.

The Houthis, who launched a major offensive in Yemen in early September, now control the entire coastline bordering the Red Sea, strengthening their hold on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and causing new fears for international maritime transport.

The passage, which links Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal, gained importance after the start of the war in the Middle East, when Iran began to severely disrupt maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, causing oil prices to soar.

- 48 deaths in 24 hours -

Two sources within the Houthi movement told AFP on Saturday that the fighters were installing radars and digging tunnels along the Red Sea coast, adding that members of the Revolutionary Guards, Iran's powerful armed force, had recently visited the region.

These measures could further threaten Saudi Arabia, the world's leading crude oil exporter, especially since in July the Houthis had already decreed a maritime blockade in the Red Sea for Saudi ships, which have been targeted several times since.

In response to regular strikes against the kingdom, Saudi Arabia has been daily and extensively bombing areas controlled by fighters in Yemen.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government forces are also trying to halt the Houthi advance. The clashes have left hundreds dead since early September, including 48 deaths in the last 24 hours, sources from both sides reported on Saturday.

At least 112,000 people have also been displaced in Yemen since the beginning of September in this country, the poorest in the Arabian Peninsula, according to the UN.

Yemen has already been the scene of a war between 2014 and 2022 that caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.