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Major General Turki Al-Malki, spokesperson for the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, announced that forces had detected, tracked and were dealing with a threat of drones and cruise missiles directed against Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Press Agency reported. The statement issued in Riyadh offered no specifics on the number of incoming weapons or their intended targets inside the kingdom. Defense systems had been deployed to counter the projectiles.
The Saudi Press Agency announcement came after a series of attacks claimed by the Houthis. Reuters reported that a strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10 killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300, marking the deadliest incident in the kingdom in over a decade. The casualties included Saudi nationals as well as citizens from Bangladesh, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan.
Arab News indicated that operations at the Riyadh airport had been suspended for extended safety inspections after multiple strikes in the days prior, including the destruction of a cruise missile nearby. Saudi civil defense authorities issued alerts for Abha and Khamis Mushayt following ballistic missile launches before confirming the threats had been neutralized. Damage assessments were also underway at Dammam airport after it was targeted.
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for the recent wave of strikes on Saudi airports and energy facilities, according to BBC News. Since the start of October, the attacks have resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries across several sites, Al Jazeera reported. The Saudi-led coalition, which has operated in Yemen since 2015, has responded by announcing multiple interceptions during the same period.
Al-Malki had detailed earlier threats including the interception of two drones aimed at Riyadh and a ballistic missile targeting Khamis Mushayt at the end of September, Reuters noted. The coalition has consistently described such actions as responses to aggression from Houthi militias in Yemen. Monitoring of similar aerial risks has continued without interruption across affected regions.
