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The Saudi-led military coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels struck several missile launchers and storage facilities belonging to the Iran-backed group, a spokesman said on Monday, as the Houthis claimed another attack on Riyadh’s international airport.
The strikes came a day after explosions rocked the Saudi capital and authorities sent text messages to residents warning of a “hostile aerial threat”. Riyadh has faced repeated Houthi attacks in recent weeks.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said on X on Monday that the operation destroyed four ballistic missile launchers, a missile depot and tunnels used by the Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen.
The operation focused on disrupting supply lines linking areas under Houthi control, he added.
Al-Maliki also said Saudi air defences had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards Riyadh.
The rebels have launched repeated attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. An attack earlier this month killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, making it the deadliest strike in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
The airport reopened and flights resumed on Sunday, despite Houthi warnings urging travellers to stay away from the facility, which the group described as a “military target”.
On Monday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group had again targeted the airport with a ballistic missile, saying it had struck its intended target accurately. He also said the rebels had attacked oil pumping stations with drones.
The Houthis had claimed another attack on the airport on Sunday after Saudi authorities announced the resumption of flights.
The airport closure dealt a major blow to Saudi Arabia, forcing the postponement of the kingdom’s flagship investment conference until 2027 and disrupting travel plans for thousands of passengers.
The Dakar Rally was also among a growing list of events cancelled, postponed or relocated amid the conflict.
Saree warned that Riyadh airport remained “unsafe” and a “military target”, saying the Saudi government would bear the consequences of any operations there.
Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government it supports have faced sustained Houthi attacks in recent weeks following the collapse of a years-long truce in the summer. The escalation has shifted the focus of the wider US-Iran war that erupted in February.
Greece considers air defence support
As operations resumed at Riyadh airport, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, and discussed air defence cooperation.
Mitsotakis agreed to a Saudi request to keep a Patriot missile defence system in the kingdom amid the escalating security situation, his office said.
Greece has deployed a battery of the US-made Patriot system in Yanbu, a major oil export hub on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.
On Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition said its air defences had intercepted at least 10 ballistic missiles.
“The bombardment has been very heavy since this morning — may God keep us safe. Everything is shaking because of the explosions,” a resident of Khamis Mushait in Saudi Arabia told AFP on Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency later reported that two people had been injured by falling debris in the south, with several buildings and vehicles also damaged.
Images released by the Saudi Press Agency showed a building with part of its upper facade destroyed, exposing metal reinforcement bars. Other images showed shattered windows and broken glass scattered across pavements and part of a road.