Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi missiles targeting Riyadh, Eastern province

What the report says

Saudi Arabia said its air defenses intercepted a series of missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthi movement toward the kingdom, including projectiles aimed at Riyadh and the Eastern Province. According to the Saudi-led coalition’s spokesman, Major-General Turki al-Maliki, three ballistic missiles were destroyed, and later the coalition said it also intercepted two cruise missiles over Riyadh and the south. The developments were reported on Sunday, as fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognized government intensified again.

Al Jazeera reported that the missile launches came amid a wider escalation in Yemen, where government forces have been trying to retake Houthi-held areas, including Sanaa, through a campaign described as Dawn of Yemen. The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, have continued to claim attacks on Saudi targets, including oil facilities, the capital’s airport and military positions, though those claims were not independently confirmed in the article.

The same report said Houthi officials accused Saudi-led coalition strikes of killing 33 people in a village near Sanaa, including women and children, and injuring dozens more. Al Jazeera noted it could not independently verify those casualty figures, and there was no immediate coalition comment on the reported strikes. The article places the latest exchanges within a prolonged war that has repeatedly spilled across the Saudi-Yemen border and deepened Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.