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 said the Iran-allied Houthis had launched a ballistic missile at Riyadh and three top-trapped drones into Jizan province. 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, and just a day after a mysterious explosion hit a ship in Israel that was in the Gulf of Oman. The blast renewed concerns about ship safety in strategic waterways, where in 2019 several suspected Iranian attacks on oil tankers were reported.
The state-run Al-Ekhbariya TV broadcast footage of 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, which is apparently the kingdom’s U.S. Patriot rocket batteries intercepting the ballistic missile.
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.
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.
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 Biden announced this month that he would end US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen, including ‘relevant’ arms sales. But he stressed that the United States would continue to 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.