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 Yemen years’ war said Iran’s Allied Houthis launched a ballistic missile at Riyadh and three trapped drones in the direction of Jizan province. No victims or injuries were reported initially. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
The attack comes amid rising tensions in the Middle East and just a 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, where several Iranian attacks on oil tankers were reported 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 watched the blast of fire pierce the night sky, which appeared to be the batteries of the kingdom’s US Patriot missile intercepting the ballistic missile.
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.
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.
The Saudi-led coalition faced widespread international criticism for air strikes in Yemen that killed hundreds of civilians and hit non-military targets, including schools, hospitals and wedding parties.
President Biden announced this month that he was ending US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, including the sale of “relevant” weapons. But he stressed that the United States will still 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.