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The Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis has announced it intercepted two missiles fired towards the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh, and another aimed at its southern region.
Major-General Turki al-Maliki, a spokesperson for the coalition, blamed the Iran-backed Houthis for Tuesday’s attacks.
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In a series of posts on X, he said a ballistic missile and a cruise missile were intercepted and destroyed over Riyadh, while a second ballistic missile was downed over the southern part of the country.
Multiple explosions were heard in Riyadh, according to the AFP news agency, and residents received text-message alerts instructing them to take shelter due to an “aerial threat”.
A subsequent message from the country’s civil defence agency said the danger had passed.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
Meanwhile, the Houthi-run Saba news agency reported Saudi-led coalition air strikes on Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, which the Houthis control.
Saba said the strikes hit the al-Mufazir gas facility in the Jadar district, north of the capital, and a building belonging to the state oil company in southern Sanaa. Civil defence teams were working to put out a fire in gas trailers at the al-Mufazir station, it said.
The coalition did not immediately confirm the strikes.
The attacks were the latest in a series of exchanges as fighting rages in Yemen between the Houthis and the country’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by Riyadh.
The Saudi-led coalition has supported a Yemeni government offensive to retake territory with air strikes, while the Houthis have repeatedly struck Saudi oil infrastructure, including refineries and storage facilities, with drones and missiles.
On Monday, the East-West oil pipeline in Saudi Arabia’s Medina region was attacked again. A Saudi Ministry of Energy official told the state-run SPA news agency the strike caused a “limited fire” that was extinguished. The official said that “pipeline operations were unaffected”.
No injuries or deaths were reported.
The pipeline is a vital route for Saudi oil exports due to Tehran’s restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz following the US-Israel war against Iran. The pipeline has come under attack several times, as the war on Iran fuels a global energy crisis.
On Sunday, the Houthis also said they attacked Riyadh’s business district.
Saudi officials said falling debris from an “attempted attack” had caused minor damage to the Aramco Tower.
Images released by the SPA showed the deputy governor of the Riyadh region and other officials inspecting the building, with damage visible on several floors.
