"Coalition of Legitimacy" intercepts ballistic missile targeting Riyadh and vows to retaliate against Houthis
Agencies3 min read
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The "Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen" announced on Saturday that it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi group toward the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and thwarted other attempts to target civilians and civilian objects in 4 regions of the Kingdom, threatening to take measures against the Houthis.
This is the first announcement during the recent wave of escalation regarding the interception of a ballistic missile toward Riyadh, after previous attacks focused on other areas in the Kingdom, including Khamis Mushait, Abha, Jazan, and Taif.
Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said in a statement that the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces succeeded at dawn on Saturday "in intercepting and destroying a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the city of Riyadh."
Al-Maliki added that "the escalation of the terrorist Houthi militia and its continued attempts to target civilians in Riyadh confirms the intransigence of this militia and its persistence in deliberately and systematically targeting civilian objects in a terrorist and hostile behavior."
He pointed out that the Houthis attempted to "target civilians and civilian objects in the cities of Baish and Farasan (southwest), and Yanbu and Taif (west), while the hostile attempts were thwarted by air defenses."
Al-Maliki affirmed "the inherent right of the Coalition Command to take appropriate measures, in accordance with international humanitarian law and its customary rules, to deter the behavior of the terrorist Houthi militia."
The statement did not clarify the nature of the attempts that it said targeted Baish, Taif, Farasan, and Yanbu, or the type of weapons used in them, nor did it mention any casualties or material damage.
Riyadh has previously been subjected to Houthi missile attacks during the years of the war; in 2020 and 2021, the Coalition and Saudi authorities announced the interception of ballistic missiles toward the capital, and the Coalition also announced in March 2018 the interception of 7 missiles, including 3 toward Riyadh.
Earlier on Saturday, the military spokesman for the Houthi group, Yahya Saree, announced in a statement the execution of two operations with a large number of missiles and drones against targets he described as "sensitive" in Riyadh, and against the Aramco oil company in Yanbu governorate.
Saree considered that the two operations came in response to Riyadh's accusation that the Houthi group targeted Makkah, and to Saudi raids that he claimed reached 732 airstrikes and left dead and wounded, as well as "in response to Saudi attempts to target the capital, Sanaa," according to his claims.
Friday witnessed a wider range of alerts in Saudi Arabia, as the Civil Defense announced the end of the danger in 7 cities and governorates extending from the southwest of the Kingdom to its northwest.
The waves of alerts come after Saudi authorities announced on Thursday the death of one person and the injury of two others due to the fall of debris from a Houthi drone while it was being intercepted in the skies over Taif governorate in the west of the Kingdom.
On July 20, the Houthi group announced what it called a "maritime blockade" on Saudi Arabia, before later announcing the targeting of Saudi ships and sites with missiles and drones.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia has led a coalition to support the internationally recognized Yemeni government in the face of the Houthis, who have controlled the capital, Sanaa, and several governorates since September 2014.
