The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government said it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Iran-backed Houthi movement toward an area north of Riyadh.
Coalition spokesperson Turki Al-Maliki said in a post on X that a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis had been intercepted and destroyed north of Riyadh. He added that the coalition was tracking the missile launch platform through its intelligence systems over Sanaa and would destroy it.
The Houthis also targeted Aden airport in Yemen with two ballistic missiles and explosive-laden drones, according to Yemen’s official Saba news agency.
Earlier, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed another ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
Al-Maliki said the main sources of Houthi missile threats were Sanaa, Saada and Amran, adding that the coalition would continue working to neutralize threats from ballistic and surface-to-surface missiles and destroy their launch sites.
In July, a truce reached in 2022 between the Houthis and the Yemeni government collapsed after the Houthis accused Riyadh of striking Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing there. The Houthis subsequently announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in response to what they described as a blockade of areas under their control, and resumed attacks on Saudi vessels and oil facilities.
The war in Yemen began in 2014 when the Houthis launched a major offensive against government forces and seized Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, one of the world’s poorest countries. Saudi Arabia has led a coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2015.
On Monday, Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Mohammed Al-Alimi announced the launch of “Dawn of Yemen”, an operation aimed at restoring state institutions, liberating Sanaa and ending the Houthi militia’s coup.
Al-Alimi said on X that the will of the Yemeni people, together with the courage of the armed forces and support from allies and partners, would lead Yemen toward a new dawn of freedom, peace and stability.
