Saudi-led coalition blames Yemen’s Houthis as state TV broadcasts footage of explosions in the air over Riyadh.
Multiple explosions were heard and the night skies above Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, lit up with bright flashes on Saturday as a Saudi-led military coalition announced the thwarting of a missile attack that it blamed on Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Brigadier General Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said in a statement the Houthis launched a ballistic missile towards Riyadh and three booby-trapped drones towards the province of Jizan, with a fourth towards the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait.No casualties were reported, although state-run Al Ekhbariya television said fragments of the missile scattered over several Riyadh neighbourhoods, damaging at least one home.
The Iranian-aligned Houthis said they deployed a ballistic missile and nine drones at “sensitive targets” in Riyadh and six drones at military sites in Abha and Khamis Mushait.
The attacks came as Saudi Arabia hosted a Formula E championship on the outskirts of Riyadh, which state media said was attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Al Ekhbariya broadcast footage of what appeared to be explosions in the air over Riyadh, and social media users also posted videos, with some showing residents shrieking as they watched the fiery blast pierce the night sky, which appeared to be the kingdom’s Patriot missile batteries intercepting the ballistic missile.
Al-Malki said the Houthis were trying in “a systematic and deliberate way to target civilians”.
The US Embassy in Riyadh issued a warning to Americans, calling on them to “stay alert in case of additional future attacks”. Flight-tracking websites showed several flights scheduled to land at Riyadh’s international airport diverted or delayed in the hour after the attack.
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