A Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi movement says it intercepted three missiles aimed at Saudi Arabia, including two directed towards the capital, Riyadh, as civil defence authorities warned residents of an aerial threat.
The coalition said a ballistic missile and a cruise missile were destroyed over Riyadh early on Tuesday 10 November. In a separate statement, it said another ballistic missile had been intercepted over the country’s southern region.
Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki attributed the launches to the Houthis. The group did not immediately comment on the reported launches. The coalition’s account of the interceptions and its attribution of responsibility have not been independently verified.
Warnings in the capital and south
Multiple explosions were heard in Riyadh, while residents received text-message alerts telling them to take shelter because of an aerial threat. Saudi Civil Defence later said the danger had passed. Hearing explosions does not, by itself, establish what caused them.
Civil defence authorities had also issued warnings for the south-western cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait before saying the danger had passed there. Those alerts do not establish that either city was struck. The coalition’s account referred to a missile aimed at the southern region; it did not identify a specific city as the intended target.
Southern Saudi Arabia borders Yemen and has previously been affected by missile and drone attacks amid the fighting. The information available on the 10 November claims does not establish the launch sites or the full paths of the missiles.
Separate incidents in preceding days
The reported interceptions followed a separate incident in Riyadh on Sunday 8 November. Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said falling shrapnel from an attempted attack had damaged an administrative building belonging to the oil company Aramco. The ministry said there were no casualties.
Saudi officials had reported intercepting missiles aimed at Riyadh and the Eastern Province that day. The ministry attributed the building damage to falling shrapnel, rather than describing a confirmed direct missile impact. That earlier incident should not be confused with the interceptions reported on Tuesday.
On Monday 9 November, the energy ministry said the East–West oil pipeline had been attacked in the Medina region. An official said a limited fire was extinguished, nobody was injured or killed, and pipeline operations were unaffected. The ministry’s account did not identify an attacker.
The pipeline crosses the Arabian Peninsula towards the Red Sea and provides an oil-export route that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. The attack on the pipeline and the reported missiles on Tuesday were separate events; the information available does not establish that they were carried out by the same party.
Conflict in Yemen
The Saudi-led coalition supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government in its fight against the Houthis, who control the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. Hostilities have intensified since Houthi advances in September towards the Bab el-Mandeb strait, at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities have been targeted during the fighting, while Saudi Arabia has carried out air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. The conflict has also raised concerns about the safety of civilians and the movement of humanitarian supplies.
In a September statement, members of the United Nations Security Council condemned Houthi attacks affecting civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. They also expressed concern about civilians killed and injured in Yemen and called for humanitarian access.
At that point, the council cited a United Nations estimate that at least 125,000 people had been displaced across Yemen since the start of September. It called on the parties to engage with efforts towards a negotiated, Yemeni-led political settlement. The displacement figure was an estimate for that earlier period, not a tally for the latest reported incidents.
