Yemenupdated 15m ago3 min read
MapSaudi-Led Coalition Intercepts Two Houthi Ballistic Missiles and Shoots Down Three Drones
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This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Houthis targeted King Khalid International Airport and a Riyadh financial center with two missiles. Saudi-led coalition intercepted two ballistic missiles and destroyed multiple drones across Riyadh and eastern Saudi.
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Outlets did split on Houthis Claim Ballistic Missile Strike on Saudi Officers’ Camp in Aden →
Riyadh intercepts, Houthi claims
Saudi-led coalition forces said they intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi terrorist militia towards Riyadh, and they also shot down three drones in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern region on Sunday. Turki al-Maliki said in a post on X early on Sunday, "Air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi terrorist militia towards Riyadh," while Yahya Saree said the Houthis were able to "repel a number of Saudi military formations using several Yemeni-made surface-to-air missiles". The Houthis also claimed they shot down an armed Saudi coalition reconnaissance aircraft carrying out "hostile operations in the airspace of al-Jawf," and the coalition said it intercepted several drones launched towards the Yemeni city of Marib.
Yahya Saree said the Houthis had shot down the fifth aircraft since the escalation began, and the coalition said it carried out at least 37 air strikes and 56 drone attacks, as well as 541 artillery strikes. The fighting context included Yemen’s internationally recognized government saying it carried out a "repositioning" of its forces from areas close to the Bab al-Mandab strait as the Houthis increased control over the sea passage.
Mecca and Medina dispute
The BBC said the Houthis targeted two pumping stations on the East-West oil line in Riyadh, and the Houthis military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the operation achieved its objectives successfully. Yahya Sarea denied the Saudi claim that the Houthis targeted Mecca, saying the Saudi claim is a lie and slander, while Turki al-Maliki accused the Houthis of aiming at Mecca. The BBC said the Saudi-led coalition intercepted four drones over the Mecca region and the Medina region, and it said Maliki had previously spoken about the interception of “two ballistic missiles” launched by the Houthis toward the capital Riyadh.
The Yemeni government’s armed forces said the repositioning aimed to secure the capital Aden and neighboring governorates, strengthen fronts, and address existing threats, alongside continuing efforts to break the siege of Taiz. The International Committee of the Red Cross announced that the Houthis released 600 members of the government’s forces who were detained since the resumed hostilities in July, and Abdul Qadir al-Murtadha said releasing 600 prisoners represents “the largest unilateral amnesty and prisoner release in the history of the confrontations,”.
Displacement, alerts, and next steps
The Al Jazeera report said more than 340,000 people have been displaced as a result of fighting in Yemen since August, and it said the US Embassy in Riyadh issued a nationwide security alert on Saturday urging Americans in the kingdom to exercise “heightened vigilance”. The US Embassy warned that Houthi attacks on airports and other critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia had “caused civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions,” and it warned that hostilities could spread “rapidly”. Al Jazeera said the coalition carried out at least 37 air strikes and 56 drone attacks, as well as 541 artillery strikes, while Houthi spokesman Saree said the Saudi-led coalition had launched 72 air strikes against the Houthis in the Saada, Taiz, Lahij and al-Jawf governorates over the past 24 hours.
The BBC said AFP cited six military and government sources saying the Houthis were now about 60 kilometers from Aden as they continued their advance in Lahij province, and it said four military sources and two government sources said the Houthis had taken the districts of al-Miqatra and al-Mudharrabah in Lahij bordering Aden. The BBC also said at least eight civilians were killed and 12 others injured in a rocket attack carried out by the Houthis in Lahij near Aden, according to AFP citing four sources, as two missiles hit a checkpoint at the western entrance to Aden and a third missile hit a small popular market near another checkpoint in Khawr Amira.