Saudi Arabia says it has intercepted a rocket attack on its capital, which was launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, as well as bombed-out drones targeting the southern province of Jizan.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Saudi Arabia said on Saturday it had intercepted a rocket attack on its capital and bombed drones targeting a southern province, the latest in a series of airstrikes blaming Yemeni rebels Houthis .
The Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen’s long-running war has announced that the Iranian-allied Houthis have launched a ballistic missile at Riyadh and three fat drones in the direction of Jizan province, with a fourth after another southwestern city and other drones being monitored. No injuries or damage were initially reported. There were no immediate comments from the Houthi’s.
The attack comes amid strong rising tensions in the Middle East, a day after a mysterious explosion hit a ship in Israel that was in the Gulf of Oman. That explosion renewed concerns about shipping safety in strategic waterways, which saw a spate of suspected Iranian attacks on oil tankers in 2019.
The state-run Al-Ekhbariya TV broadcast footage of what appeared to be explosions in the air over Riyadh. Social media users have also posted videos, with some residents screaming as they watch the fiery explosion piercing the night sky, apparently the Kingdom’s Patriot rocket batteries intercepting the ballistic missile.
Col. Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said the Houthis were trying to target civilians in a systematic and deliberate manner.
The U.S. embassy in Riyadh has issued a warning to Americans, urging them to “remain vigilant in the event of additional future attacks.” Flight tracking websites have shown that a number of flights that were to land at Riyadh’s international airport were diverted or delayed in the hour after the attack.
A civil defense spokesman, Mohammed al-Hammadi, later said scattered debris had caused property damage to one house, although no one was injured, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.
As the war in Yemen continued, Houthi rocket and drone strikes on the kingdom became commonplace and only rarely caused damage. Earlier this month, the Houthis hit an empty passenger plane at southwestern Abha airport in Saudi Arabia with a bomb-laden drone, setting it on fire.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition has received widespread international criticism for airstrikes in Yemen that have killed hundreds of civilians and hit non-military targets, including schools, hospitals and wedding parties. President Joe Biden announced this month that he would end US-backed Saudi-led war in Yemen, including “relevant” arms sales. But he stressed that the US would help Saudi Arabia defend itself against outside attacks.
The Houthis captured Yemen’s capital and much of the north of the country in 2014, forcing the government into exile and months later prompting Saudi Arabia and its allies to launch a bombing raid.
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Associated Press author Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.