Saudi Arabia claims to have intercepted a missile attack on its capital, launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, as well as bomb-loaded drones against southern Jizan province.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that it intercepted an attack with missiles over its capital and bomb-loaded drones against a southern province, the latest in a series of air strikes it attributed to Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The Saudi-led military coalition that fought in the Yemeni years’ war announced that Iran’s Allied Houthis launched a ballistic missile against Riyadh and three trapped drones for Jizan province, with a quarter towards another southwest city and others drones being monitored. No victims or injuries were reported initially. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
The attack comes amid mounting tensions in the Middle East, the day after a mysterious explosion hit an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman. This explosion renewed concerns about the safety of ships on strategic waterways, which saw a wave of suspected Iranian attacks on oil tankers in 2019.
State television Al-Ekhbariya broadcast images of what appeared to be explosions in the air over Riyadh. Social media users also posted videos, some showing residents screaming as they saw the explosion of fire pierce the night sky, which appeared to be the Kingdom’s Patriot missile batteries intercepting the ballistic missile.
Col. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, said the Houthis were trying “in a systematic and deliberate way to target civilians”.
The United States Embassy in Riyadh issued an alert to the Americans, asking them to “be alert in case of future additional attacks”. Flight tracking websites showed that several flights scheduled to land at Riyadh’s international airport were diverted or delayed in the hour after the attack.
A civil defense spokesman, Mohammed al-Hammadi, said later that the scattered wreckage resulted in property damage to a home, although no one was injured, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
As the Yemen war progresses, attacks by Houthi missiles and drones against the kingdom have become common, rarely causing damage. Earlier this month, the Houthis hit an empty passenger plane at Abha airport in southwest Saudi Arabia with a bomb loaded drone, causing it to catch fire.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition has faced much international criticism for air strikes in Yemen that killed hundreds of civilians and hit non-military targets, including schools, hospitals and wedding parties. President Joe Biden announced this month that he was ending US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, including “relevant” arms sales. But he stressed that the United States will continue to help Saudi Arabia defend itself from outside attacks.
The Houthis invaded the capital of Yemen and much of the north of the country in 2014, forcing the government into exile and months later leading Saudi Arabia and its allies to launch a bombing campaign.
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Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.