Saudi Arabia Intercepts Missile Attack as Houthi Strikes Injure 73

Saudi Arabia confirmed an attempted ballistic missile attack on Riyadh by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, marking a sharp escalation in regional fighting that coincides with widespread drone and missile strikes across southern energy facilities and civilian sites, injuring 73 people.

The dawn missile attempt targeting the Saudi capital was intercepted by the coalition fighting the Houthis. Residents in Riyadh reported hearing an explosion, followed by a plume of smoke visible near the airport. While officials reported no casualties or damage from the capital strike, the wider overnight offensive involved a coordinated wave of drones and missiles hitting multiple southern locations.

Energy Infrastructure and Southern Facilities Under Fire

The Iranian-backed Houthi militia launched a broad offensive targeting economic and civilian installations across southern Saudi Arabia, striking the Jazan region, an Aramco refinery near King Abdullah Airport, a bulk fuel plant, and facilities in Abha and Najran. Video footage shared across social media platforms showed large-scale fires burning at oil facilities and utilities in the kingdom’s south.

The statement also said the Houthis tried to attack civilian infrastructure in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu — where a key Saudi pipeline ends — and in Taif, Baysh and Farasan but they were thwarted, giving no further details. The Houthis earlier claimed, without providing evidence, that they had targeted sensitive sites in Riyadh and facilities of Saudi oil giant Aramco in Yanbu, causing “massive fires.” Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, did not respond to a request for comment. Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed they attacked with cruise and ballistic missiles as well as drones, and said Saudi Arabia had attempted to target the rebel-held city of Sanaa in neighboring Yemen, without giving details.

In Significant Escalation, Houthis Attack Saudi Capital

On Thursday, the first civilian casualty was reported as the Saudi civil defense said debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed a Yemeni resident of Saudi Arabia. On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia said the Houthis had tried to attack Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, with a drone that it said was intercepted, calling the security of the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad a “red line,” an accusation the Houthis fiercely denied.

Saudi authorities confirmed that 73 civilians, including women and children, sustained injuries in the strikes. Operations at several energy facilities in the southern region were halted after the attacks. The Houthis asserted that the attack was retaliation for 121 Saudi airstrikes across Yemen over the past weekend.

Houthi Rebels Launch Missile And Drone Attacks Targeting Riyadh And Yanbu

Regional Shipping Corridors Face Growing Pressure

The renewed cross-border strikes threaten to further destabilize global energy markets already strained by limited supplies. The conflict draws attention to the Bab el-Mandeb, a strategic waterway off the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, serving as an alternative oil transit route utilized while the Strait of Hormuz is throttled due to the U.S.-Iran war. Houthi forces recently raced down Yemen’s Red Sea coast, seizing the key port city of Mokha and islands on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, which has improved their surveillance of passing ships, though the Houthis have said they are only targeting Saudi ones.

Photo: townhall.com

The fighting marks a return to a devastating civil war after four years of relative calm, reigniting a conflict that began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, forcing the government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition intervened the following year to try to restore the government to power. Amid the mounting defense demands, regional officials have told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and instead has asked France, Britain, Pakistan, and Egypt for air defense support. Meanwhile, the United States, a close Saudi ally, has signaled it has no current fight with the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia and Houthis Exchange Strikes as Yemen Conflict Escalates

Diplomatic Condemnation and Vows of Retaliation

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned in the strongest terms the Houthis’ cowardly attack on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, and the State of Qatar issued a statement condemning the Houthi targeting of civilian and economic sites in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has vowed to respond to the attacks, with the country apparently planning to “finish the job” against the Iranian-backed Houthi militia following these strikes.