The "Coalition" announces the interception of 3 Houthi missiles towards Riyadh and Khamis Mushait... and the group warns oil workers

The Saudi-led “Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen” announced on Thursday the interception and destruction of 3 ballistic missiles launched by the Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi group towards Riyadh and Khamis Mushait. Coalition Forces spokesman, Turki Al-Maliki, previously said in a blog post on the “X” Twitter platform: “We intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh.”

He added that "a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Khamis Mushait was intercepted and destroyed." On the other hand, the spokesman for the armed Houthi group in Yemen, Yahya Saree, said through his account on the “X” website: “Thanks to God, our armed forces were able to target King Khalid Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile this afternoon (Thursday), and it successfully hit its target and caused damage and disrupted navigational traffic at the airport,” he said.

Saree warned workers in Saudi oil facilities against being in locations that he said represent targets for Houthi forces, calling on them to stay away from them. Saree said on Thursday: “The Armed Forces warn all employees, including experts, engineers, and workers in all Saudi oil facilities, against being present in places that represent targets for our forces, so as not to put their lives in danger, whether they have been targeted before or elsewhere. They also renew their warning to air navigation companies in the areas and airports, and the travelers and workers therein, which were previously announced.”

These warnings come after an escalation in attacks that the Houthis announced were carrying out against targets in Saudi Arabia, including airports, oil facilities, and military sites. The General Authority of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that the Houthis attacked two Saudi airports, killing 3 people and wounding 36 others this week.

The authority said in a statement that Abha International Airport, located near the Yemeni border, and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh were subjected to attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Houthis - an Iranian-backed armed group that controls large parts of northern Yemen including the capital, Sanaa - have been waging a war against the internationally recognized Yemeni government and the Saudi-led coalition since 2015.

The conflict intensified in July 2026, shortly after the collapse of the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran, as the Houthis launched missile attacks targeting Saudi oil facilities and tankers, in a move that reflected the expansion of the scope of the war in the Middle East.