Houthis strike near Riyadh airport, claim hit on Saudi Aramco facility

Yemen's Houthi movement has said it launched missile and drone strikes against "sensitive" targets in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh. Flames and smoke were seen near the city's main airport several hours before the announcement.

According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia issued overnight warnings about potential danger in the Riyadh area amid intensifying Houthi attacks. Fire and thick black smoke were later observed near the main airport, apparently rising from structures believed to be fuel storage tanks.

The Houthis have not specified which facilities in Riyadh were targeted, but said they also struck a Saudi Aramco facility in the city of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, one of Saudi Arabia's key oil export hubs. The group said the operation was a response to an attack on Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

Coalition response

The military coalition opposing the Houthis said its air defense systems destroyed a missile fired by the Yemeni group toward Riyadh on Saturday morning. The coalition also said it had prevented attacks aimed at civilians in the Saudi cities of Bisha and Farasan in the southwest, Taif in the west, and Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. No damage was reported in these locations.

Earlier reports said the Iran-backed Houthis had announced an expansion of the war in the Middle East and struck four cities in southern Saudi Arabia. More than 70 people were reportedly harmed in the massive shelling, and fires broke out at oil facilities. The Houthis have also seized the port city of Mocha and advanced along the Red Sea coast toward the strategically important Hanish Islands.