The Saudi-led coalition said on Monday that its air defences intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh by the Houthi militia. Spokesman Turki al-Malki wrote on X that morning that the missile had been launched by the group, which he described as a terrorist militia.
Al-Malki added that the coalition destroyed four ballistic-missile launch platforms and a Houthi missile depot. The Houthis control a large part of Yemen. He said the operation was also intended to cut the militia’s supply lines between areas under its control.
The Houthis said on Monday that they had again struck Riyadh international airport with a ballistic missile and hit the target precisely, according to their spokesman Yahya Saree. He said their forces also attacked crude-oil pumping stations on the East-West pipeline with several drones, which he said reached their objectives.
The airport had been closed after the deadliest Houthi strike, in mid-October, which killed 13 people and injured hundreds. On Sunday its website showed several planned domestic and international services, including links from Dubai, Paris and Cairo. Flight-tracking site Flightradar24 indicated that only a few flights took off.
Saree said that on Sunday evening the airport was targeted in one of three operations conducted with dozens of ballistic missiles. The other two, he said, were aimed at an air base at Khamis Mushait and a naval base at Jazan. Asked about the situation, Saudi officials gave no information on how far operations at the airport had resumed.
The coalition also said on Sunday that it intercepted ten ballistic missiles in the south of the kingdom and a cruise missile aimed at Khamis Mushait. Saudi Civil Defence reported that two people were injured in the south by falling debris and that several buildings and vehicles were damaged.
The conflict in Yemen, which began in 2014 between the Houthis and government forces backed by Riyadh, resumed in July after four years of lull and opened a new front in the Middle East war. Organisers of the 2027 Dakar said that, following recent events in the region, the rally-raid would not be held in Saudi Arabia from 1 to 15 January as originally planned if the event is maintained. A new venue is to be announced in the coming days. Several major international events in Saudi Arabia have already been cancelled or postponed since the fighting resumed.