Saudi Arabia says it intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards Riyadh, as Houthis say they targeted the airport.

Yemen’s Houthis have said they targeted the airport in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, late on Monday, after attacks by the group on King Khalid International airport killed 14 people and injured hundreds in the previous two days.

Saudi military spokesman Turki al-Maliki said air defence systems had successfully downed the incoming missile fired from Yemen, without specifying the target.

Recommended Stories

list of 4 items

• list 1 of 4Iran sets crosshairs on ‘US-UAE’ oil shuttle out of Strait of Hormuz
• list 2 of 4Why are the Houthis striking Saudi airports?
• list 3 of 4Giants Brigades lead southern Yemen fightback against the Houthis
• list 4 of 4‘Energy ceasefire’: What’s behind Trump’s love-hate ties to Russian oil?

end of list

Several powerful explosions rattled Riyadh on Monday night, residents reported, just moments after a text message sent to residents’ mobile phones warned of an aerial threat.

The fighting marks a serious new security challenge for the world’s top oil exporter as it seeks to court investment and successfully pivot to a more diversified economy despite deepening war in the region.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group also attacked Saudi Arabia’s Khamis Mushait airbase near the Yemeni border with a drone, an attack the Saudi military spokesman says was repelled by air defences.

Saudi authorities extended the closure of Riyadh’s international airport until Saturday, and airlines scrapped flights amid the continuing Houthi attacks.

The airport has been closed since an attack on Saturday that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade. On Sunday, another attack killed one person and injured nearly a dozen others.

Probe into interception failures

Saudi Arabia has launched an investigation to determine how its air defence systems failed to intercept a barrage of missiles and drones fired by the Houthis, according to two regional officials cited by The Associated Press news agency.

According to the officials speaking on condition of anonymity, the initial probe showed that the Houthis first fired multiple drones to pave the way for a mix of cruise and ballistic missiles to reach Riyadh’s King Khalid International airport.

Yemen’s Houthis have ballistic missiles and advanced systems fitted with warheads that can change direction during flight and pose a challenge to Patriot interceptors and other defence systems used by the Saudis.

One of the officials said the investigation also aims to find out why defence systems did not provide earlier warning of the attack, in which the Houthi missiles and drones flew more than 1,000km (620 miles) to reach Riyadh.

‘No good’

US President Donald Trump criticised the Houthis for their escalating attacks on the kingdom but stopped short of indicating any US intervention in the deepening combat.

“Well, the Houthis are misbehaving very badly. No good,” Trump told reporters when asked what he planned to do about the group.

The escalation with the Houthis has raised concerns over the broader economic impact.

Saudi Arabia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) is projected ⁠to contract by 3.6 percent this year amid a range of factors, including lower oil activity.

The attacks have put events scheduled in Riyadh this month under pressure, including the kingdom’s flagship investment conference and the WPC Energy Congress, where several top oil executives were dropped from the programme.

Delta Airlines said on Monday that it would delay the launch of its planned nonstop Atlanta-Riyadh ‌service until March 2027 amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.