Saudi Arabia says it intercepted a ballistic missile fired in the direction of Riyadh, as Houthis say they focused the airport.
Revealed On 12 Oct 2026
Yemen’s Houthis have mentioned they focused the airport within the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, late on Monday, after assaults by the group on King Khalid Worldwide airport killed 14 individuals and injured a whole lot within the earlier two days.
Saudi navy spokesman Turki al-Maliki mentioned air defence methods had efficiently downed the incoming missile fired from Yemen, with out specifying the goal.
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A number of highly effective explosions rattled Riyadh on Monday night time, residents reported, simply moments after a textual content message despatched to residents’ cellphones warned of an aerial risk.
The combating marks a severe new safety problem for the world’s high oil exporter because it seeks to courtroom funding and efficiently pivot to a extra diversified financial system regardless of deepening warfare within the area.
Houthi navy spokesperson Yahya Saree mentioned the group additionally attacked Saudi Arabia’s Khamis Mushait airbase close to the Yemeni border with a drone, an assault the Saudi navy spokesman says was repelled by air defences.
Saudi authorities prolonged the closure of Riyadh’s worldwide airport till Saturday, and airways scrapped flights amid the persevering with Houthi assaults.
The airport has been closed since an assault on Saturday that killed 13 individuals and wounded greater than 300, the deadliest within the kingdom in additional than a decade. On Sunday, one other assault killed one particular person and injured almost a dozen others.
Probe into interception failures
Saudi Arabia has launched an investigation to find out how its air defence methods did not intercept a barrage of missiles and drones fired by the Houthis, based on two regional officers cited by The Related Press information company.
In keeping with the officers talking on situation of anonymity, the preliminary probe confirmed that the Houthis first fired a number of drones to pave the way in which for a mixture of cruise and ballistic missiles to achieve Riyadh’s King Khalid International airport.
Yemen’s Houthis have ballistic missiles and superior methods fitted with warheads that may change route throughout flight and pose a problem to Patriot interceptors and different defence methods utilized by the Saudis.
One of many officers mentioned the investigation additionally goals to seek out out why defence methods didn’t present earlier warning of the assault, by which the Houthi missiles and drones flew greater than 1,000km (620 miles) to achieve Riyadh.
‘No good’
US President Donald Trump criticised the Houthis for his or her escalating assaults on the dominion however stopped wanting indicating any US intervention within the deepening fight.
“Nicely, the Houthis are misbehaving very badly. No good,” Trump instructed reporters when requested what he deliberate to do in regards to the group.
The escalation with the Houthis has raised issues over the broader financial influence.
Saudi Arabia’s actual gross home product (GDP) is projected to contract by 3.6 p.c this 12 months amid a spread of things, together with decrease oil exercise.
The assaults have put occasions scheduled in Riyadh this month underneath stress, together with the dominion’s flagship funding convention and the WPC Vitality Congress, the place a number of high oil executives had been dropped from the programme.
Delta Airways mentioned on Monday that it could delay the launch of its deliberate nonstop Atlanta-Riyadh service till March 2027 amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
