Saudi Arabia says intercepted Houthi missile targeting Riyadh as airport flights resume

Authorities sent text messages to residents warning them of a "hostile aerial threat" targeting the city.

26 Oct 2026 01:40PM

RIYADH: The Saudi-led military coalition said Monday (Oct 26) it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthis, after the Iran-backed group claimed a new attack on the international airport in Riyadh.

The operation came a day after explosions rattled the Saudi capital and authorities sent text messages to residents warning them of a "hostile aerial threat" targeting the city.

The Houthis have carried out waves of strikes on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, including an attack this month that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade.

Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki said on Monday that air defences "intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile" fired by the Houthis toward Riyadh, and destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in Yemen's capital Sanaa.

"We continue the process of dismantling the ballistic missile network of the terrorist Houthi militia," Al-Malki wrote on X.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Monday the group "successfully targeted" the airport with a ballistic missile, and struck oil pumping stations with drones.

"The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out two qualitative military operations targeting the Saudi enemy troop concentrations and weapons depots" in the Aden and Lahj governorates in Yemen, which caused "dozens of casualties", Saree added.

On Sunday, the Houthis said they had launched an attack on the airport in Riyadh, after the kingdom announced that flights had resumed.

The airport closure was a major blow for Saudi Arabia, forcing the postponement of the kingdom's flagship investment conference until 2027 and disrupting travel plans for thousands of passengers.

The Dakar Rally also joined a growing list of events that were cancelled, postponed or relocated amid the fallout from the war.

Saree had earlier warned that Riyadh airport was still "unsafe" and a "military target", and urged airlines and travellers to avoid it.

"The Saudi regime shall bear the consequences of any operations at the airport," the spokesman said.

Saudi Arabia and the government it backs in Yemen have come under sustained attack in recent weeks from the Houthis as a years-long truce broke down in the summer, shifting the focus of the wider US-Iran war that erupted in February.

"EVERYTHING IS SHAKING"

As operations resumed at Riyadh airport, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

During the meeting, Mitsotakis "responded favourably to the kingdom's request to keep the Patriot system in Saudi Arabia, given the current challenging circumstances", his office said.

Greece has deployed a battery to operate the US-made Patriot air defence system in Yanbu, a major oil export hub on the Red Sea coast.

On Sunday, the Saudi-led military coalition said it intercepted at least 10 ballistic missiles.

"The bombardment has been very heavy since this morning - may God keep us safe. Everything is shaking because of the explosions," one resident in Saudi Arabia's Khamis Mushait told AFP on Sunday on condition of anonymity.

The kingdom's civil defence agency later said two people were injured in the south by falling debris, also reporting damage to several buildings and vehicles.

Images released by the SPA showed a building with part of its upper facade destroyed, exposing metal rods. Another image captured large windows shattered, with shards of glass strewn across the pavement and part of the road.