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Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for drone, cruise missile and ballistic missile attacks targeting Riyadh and key energy facilities along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, BBC reported on Sunday.
Saudi authorities, however, said their air defences successfully detected and intercepted a ballistic missile heading towards Riyadh on Saturday. They reported no major damage or casualties.
A spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition said Saudi forces had also thwarted several “hostile attacks” targeting civilian areas in Riyadh, Taif, Wadi Al-Dawasir, Farasan and Yanbu.
Following the attacks, thick black smoke was seen rising from a fuel tank near King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The incident temporarily disrupted air traffic, while air-raid sirens sounded in the capital for the first time since the recent escalation in Houthi attacks.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed that a large number of drones and long-range missiles were launched at “sensitive targets” in Riyadh and facilities of Saudi state-owned oil giant Aramco in the coastal city of Yanbu.
He said the attacks were carried out in retaliation for an alleged Saudi attempt to seize Sanaa and nearly 300 Saudi airstrikes across Yemen over the past week. The Houthis have also claimed to have intensified attacks on Saudi targets and shot down a Saudi fighter jet over Yemen.
Amid the escalating conflict, the US State Department issued an emergency security alert for American citizens in or travelling to the Middle East.
The department warned that attacks by Iran-backed Houthis targeting airports and oil infrastructure could lead to flight cancellations and disruptions. It also urged Americans to seriously reconsider travel plans to Saudi Arabia and neighbouring countries amid concerns that the conflict could spread further.
