Houthis Fire Another Ballistic Missile at Riyadh, Saudi Coalition Shoots It Down

The Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi group has again fired a ballistic missile targeting the Saudi capital, Riyadh. At around the same time, they also launched two explosive-laden drones at Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province and the southwestern city of Najran.

However, the Saudi-Yemeni defence coalition destroyed both the drones and the missile using its air defence system. The incident took place at around 4am local time on Saturday.

In a message posted on the social media platform X on Saturday, the Saudi coalition said it had shot down a ballistic missile fired at Saudi Arabia and intercepted a drone. The incident came amid an increase in the intensity of cross-border attacks from Iran-backed Houthi fighters.

The French news agency AFP and the Saudi daily Arab News reported that shortly after 4am on Saturday, the Saudi civil defence force issued a warning through its early warning platform. The message warned of a possible aerial threat over Riyadh, Najran and the southern province of Wadi al-Dawasir.

Just a few minutes after the warning was issued, two loud explosions were heard in the capital, Riyadh. Although the sounds created panic among residents of the capital in the early hours, the coalition claims the missile was destroyed in the air.

In Saturday's X post, Saudi-Yemeni coalition spokesperson Brigadier General Turki al-Malki said a ballistic missile fired by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh was intercepted and destroyed through the air defence system.

In an earlier post, Brigadier al-Malki had said a drone was intercepted and destroyed in the Eastern Province. In recent weeks, Saudi Arabia has been under continuous drone and missile attacks. Among them was a major attack on Riyadh's international airport, one of the deadliest attacks in the country in the past few years.

The city of Najran, located on Saudi Arabia's southwestern border with Yemen, has repeatedly faced cross-border rocket and drone attacks. The Wadi al-Dawasir region, on the other hand, lies just south of Riyadh, near the Rub al-Khali, or vast desert, area.

Although the Houthis sometimes deny responsibility for certain attacks on Saudi territory, cross-border attacks have increased significantly. The conflict has intensified anew since the fragile four-year ceasefire collapsed last July. Added to this is the rising level of regional tension between the United States and Iran.

The conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi forces dates back to 2015. That year, when Houthi fighters seized all of northern Yemen and the capital Sanaa, the then president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi fled across the border into Saudi Arabia. To restore him to power, the Saudi-led coalition began a military operation in Yemen that same year.

However, the United Arab Emirates began gradually withdrawing troops from the coalition from 2019 and withdrew completely in 2025. Currently the capital Sanaa and northern Yemen are under Houthi control, while southern Yemen is controlled by the Saudi-backed Yemeni Presidential Council government.

In 2022, the Houthis signed a ceasefire agreement with Saudi Arabia under United Nations mediation. Although the situation remained stable for almost four years after that, tension between the two sides began rising again after Yemeni forces attacked Sanaa's international airport on July 13. That tension has now reached an extreme form.

Since September, Houthi rebels have been attacking Saudi Arabia's military and economic infrastructure and have managed to cause considerable damage. Last month the Houthis seized the Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the important trade route connecting this sea with the Gulf of Aden. As a result, Saudi oil exports abroad have faced a difficult challenge. All eyes are now on whether tension across the border rises further after this early-morning missile attack.