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The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said its forces intercepted another ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as the city reeled from attacks that have killed at least 14 people in recent days.
In a statement on X, Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesman of the coalition, said that the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh and two towards Khamis Mushait, a city in the southwest.
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All three were “intercepted and destroyed,” he said.
Residents of Riyadh reported several powerful explosions on Monday evening, moments after a text message to their phones warned of an aerial threat.
The Houthis, who control Yemen’s most populous areas, including the capital Sanaa, said their target in Riyadh was King Khalid International Airport.
Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, said the group also sent a drone to a military airbase near Khamis Mushait, near the Yemeni border. He again warned international airlines and travelers “against flights to airports” in Saudi Arabia, except in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, saying the facilities were “unsafe.”
The renewed attacks came as King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh remains closed following a Houthi attack on Saturday that killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300 others. Another strike on Sunday left one person dead and 11 injured.
Saudi authorities said the airport will remain closed until this Saturday, and airlines have canceled flights. The Houthis also hit Saudi oil facilities.
The attacks come as the Houthis battle forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government for control of the country. The Saudi-led coalition conducted an air campaign against the Houthis and supported the government’s ground forces. The fighting erupted in the midst of regional tensions sparked by the US and Israel’s war against Iran.
Speaking at an energy conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, said the attacks on airports in the past week had tested the kingdom’s resilience.
“The events of the last few weeks are serious,” the minister said. “Our response must be equally serious.” He added that Vision 2030, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to diversify the Saudi economy, “must continue. Investment must continue”.
Saudi authorities, meanwhile, have opened an investigation into why the country’s air defenses failed to stop the barrage, according to two regional officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. An initial investigation found that the Houthis first launched several drones to clear a path for a mix of cruise and ballistic missiles that then reached the airport, officials said.
The Houthis possess ballistic missiles with warheads that can change direction in flight, a challenge for the Patriot interceptors and other systems the Saudis rely on.
One official told the AP that investigators also wanted to know why the defense did not give advance warning of an attack in which missiles and drones would fly more than 1,000 km, or 620 miles, to reach Riyadh.
US President Donald Trump separately criticized the Houthis, but gave no indication that Washington would intervene. “Well, the Houthis are behaving very badly. No good,” he told reporters when asked what he planned to do about the group.
A Houthi official warned that US involvement would bring repression.
“If the United States is involved in the aggression against Yemen, we will not consider the decision to respond; rather, there will be a quick and painful response that will target the United States and all its interests in the region,” Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political office, told the AFP news agency.
Al-Bukhaiti also warned “all employees and workers at Saudi oil facilities and airports to stay away from these sites as they become legitimate targets.”
The attacks have put pressure on events scheduled for this month in Riyadh, including the kingdom’s flagship investment conference and the WPC Energy Congress, where several top oil executives were dropped from the program.
The United Arab Emirates national carrier Etihad Airways announced on Monday that it is canceling all flights to and from Riyadh until next week. It also suspended flights to Dammam and Jeddah.
Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air also said it was canceling all Riyadh flights until Saturday.
The US operator Delta announced that it would delay the start of direct flights from Atlanta to Riyadh, scheduled for October 23.
