Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi missiles targeting Riyadh and Eastern Province
Saudi Arabia said its air defences destroyed multiple missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi movement, in an escalation that reached the capital Riyadh and the Eastern Province. The Saudi-led coalition said the projectiles were intercepted on Sunday, with officials describing the incident as a series of ballistic and cruise missile attacks. The reported strikes come as fighting intensifies in Yemen and cross-border attacks continue to shape the conflict.
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Major-General Turki al-Maliki, the coalition's spokesperson, said three ballistic missiles were destroyed, including two launched towards Riyadh. He later said two cruise missiles were also intercepted in Riyadh and the southern region. In a separate statement, he said another ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards the Eastern Province was also destroyed.
The coalition did not immediately report damage or casualties from the missile launches. The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah, has been fighting Saudi-led forces for years in a war that has repeatedly spilled across the border. The latest missile launches were reported alongside claims from the Houthi-run health authorities that 33 people were killed in coalition air attacks near Sanaa.
Those claims included reports of women and children among the dead, but they could not be independently verified in the material provided. The coalition did not immediately comment on the reported deaths. The incident matters because it shows the conflict remains active on both sides of the border, with military pressure continuing around key Saudi cities and infrastructure.
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Riyadh is the political centre of Saudi Arabia, while the Eastern Province is strategically important because of its economic and energy assets. Missile interceptions over these areas underline the continuing risk of escalation in a war that has already drawn in regional actors and affected civilian areas in Yemen. The row also points to a broader intensification inside Yemen, where government forces have been battling the Houthis over territory including Sanaa.
The supporting material says government forces launched the Dawn of Yemen operation last month to retake Houthi-held areas, including the capital. It also says Houthi military officials have claimed a high volume of coalition air strikes and missile attacks across several governorates, while Houthi-affiliated outlets reported shelling in border districts. What remains unclear is the full extent of any damage from the missile launches and whether further retaliatory strikes will follow.
The available material does not confirm casualties in Saudi Arabia from the interceptions, and the reported deaths near Sanaa were not independently verified. The next developments to watch are whether the coalition issues more details, whether the Houthis claim additional attacks, and whether the fighting around Sanaa and the border widens further.
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