Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi drones and missiles as Yemen conflict escalates

Saudi Arabia shot down drones and missiles over Riyadh and its southern region on Sunday, according to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, as hostilities with the Iran-backed Houthi movement showed no sign of easing.

The confrontation has grown into an increasingly destabilizing front in the aftermath of the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, turning Saudi Arabia, a key US ally, into a pressure point in the broader war.

Civil defense authorities sent emergency alerts on Sunday for the capital as well as the southern cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait, only to announce minutes later that the threat was over.

The coalition said two drones and a ballistic missile were fired at Riyadh, while a cruise missile targeted Khamis Mushait in the south. It later reported intercepting ten ballistic missiles launched toward southern parts of the kingdom.

The Houthis warned they could strike Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport once more. The airport restarted operations at two terminals on Sunday, following a deadly attack earlier this month, and the group said it hit the airport and Saudi oil facilities on Saturday. Saudi officials did not directly address those claims.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the airport remains a "military target" and cautioned airlines, airport workers and passengers against using it. Late Saturday, the airport announced that Terminal 1 would handle domestic flights while Terminal 2 would serve international routes flown by national carriers starting Sunday.

Operations at the airport were suspended on October 10 after an attack claimed by the Houthis killed 13 people and injured more than 300, making it the deadliest assault in the kingdom in over a decade.

Riyadh has intensified its strikes on the Houthis since the group captured strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month, advancing toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical maritime chokepoint used by Gulf oil producers and located on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz.

The renewed violence has undone a UN-brokered truce that had largely held since 2022. Saudi Arabia entered Yemen's civil war in 2015, leading a coalition backing the internationally recognized government after the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, the previous year.