Saudi-led coalition says it intercepts three Houthi ballistic missiles

Saudi Arabia says two of the missiles intercepted were headed towards the capital, Riyadh. Save Share The Saudi-led coalition fighting on behalf of Yemen’s internationally recognised government says it has intercepted ballistic missiles allegedly fired by Yemen’s Houthis towards cities in Saudi Arabia. In a statement, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said his forces intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles heading in the direction of the Saudi capital Riyadh, and one missile in the direction of the city of Khamis Mushait, close to the Yemeni border, on Thursday. Separately, Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency said in a statement on X that falling debris from an intercepted missile had caused material damage to a kindergarten and medical clinic complex in Riyadh. It did not indicate if there were any casualties. Yahya Saree, Yemen’s Houthi military spokesman, said the Iran-aligned group launched a ballistic missile towards King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Thursday afternoon, claiming that the missile had successfully hit its intended target, causing damage and disrupting air traffic. Witnesses told The Associated Press news agency that they heard several explosions in Riyadh on Thursday, including one at the city’s airport that halted flights. Al Jazeera could not independently confirm the reports. In recent days, the Houthis have warned aviation companies to avoid using Saudi airspace, saying any aircraft operating in the kingdom’s airspace, except over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, is a target for the Houthis. Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh were targeted in two separate attacks, claimed by the Houthis on Tuesday and Wednesday. At leastthree civilianswere killed and 36 injured, according to a statement from the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). On September 18, Saudi-led coalition forces said they intercepted and destroyed a suspected Houthi ballistic missile fired towards the airport in Riyadh from Yemen. A day later, on September 19, at least one explosion was heard near the airport in Riyadh, and a large plume of black smoke was seen rising from a fuel storage area at King Khalid International Airport. Meanwhile, inside Yemen, explosions have been reported near the airport in the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, according to local sources. The cause and impact of these explosions are not immediately clear....