Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted 3 Houthi ballistic missiles
Al Jazeera Staff
The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted two ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh and one at Khamis Mushait, while the Houthis claim they hit King Khalid Airport in the Saudi capital. The exchange comes amid escalating fighting inside Yemen, where the IOM says more than 200,000 people have been displaced in recent weeks.
The Saudi-led coalition, fighting on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognised government, says it intercepted ballistic missiles that Yemen's Houthi forces are said to have fired at Saudi cities.
In a statement, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said his forces intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles aimed at the capital, Riyadh, along with one aimed at the city of Khamis Mushait near the Yemeni border on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia's civil defence agency said separately on X that debris from an intercepted missile caused material damage to a kindergarten and a medical clinic in Riyadh. It did not say whether there were any casualties.
Yahya Saree, the Houthis' military spokesman, said the group fired a ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Thursday afternoon, claiming it hit its intended target, caused damage and disrupted aviation operations.
Witnesses told the Associated Press they heard multiple explosions in Riyadh on Thursday, including one at the city's airport that forced flights to be suspended. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the reports.
In recent days, the Houthis have warned airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, saying any aircraft operating in the kingdom's airspace — except over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina — would be a target for the group.
Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh were targeted in two separate attacks claimed by the Houthis on Tuesday and Wednesday. At least three civilians were killed and 36 wounded, according to a statement from the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).
On September 18, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a suspected Houthi ballistic missile fired from Yemen towards an airport in Riyadh.
A day later, on September 19, at least one explosion was heard near an airport in Riyadh, and a large black plume of smoke was seen rising from the fuel storage area at King Khalid International Airport.
Fighting escalates in Yemen
Meanwhile, inside Yemen, local sources reported explosions near the airport in the Houthi-controlled Red Sea port city of Hodeidah. The cause and extent of the explosions were not immediately clear.
Al Jazeera correspondent Hadeel al-Yamani, reporting from Taiz in Yemen, said intense fighting is under way between forces of Yemen's internationally recognised government and the Houthis in al-Shamayatayn and al-Maafer, as well as in the southern and western countryside of Taiz province.
"The Houthis are advancing into rural areas that had not seen conflict for years, in order to open a supply route because their routes towards al-Kadaha and al-Waziiya, linking Aden, Lahij and Taiz, have been almost cut off by advancing government forces," she said.
Al-Yamani added that government-aligned forces are now within striking distance of al-Waziiya and the Kahboub mountains overlooking the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
According to her, government-aligned forces have reported more than 2,000 operations against the Houthis and are preparing for a "dangerous escalation".
More than 200,000 people have been forced to leave their homes since fighting in Yemen escalated in recent weeks, according to data released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The IOM described the crisis in a statement on Wednesday as alarming, with displacement surging from the 76,000 recorded in mid-September.
