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Saudi-led coalition downs Houthi missiles and drones aimed at Riyadh and Khamis Mushait
A ballistic missile, two drones and a cruise missile were destroyed on Sunday morning, the coalition said, as Indian airlines keep Saudi flights suspended.
Key points
- The coalition said it destroyed a ballistic missile and two drones fired at Riyadh.
- A cruise missile aimed at Khamis Mushait, near the Yemen border, was shot down later.
- Air India has halted Riyadh and Dammam flights until 7 November.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Sunday it had shot down a fresh wave of missiles and drones fired at Saudi cities, including the capital.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said air defences destroyed a ballistic missile and two drones launched towards Riyadh early in the day. Hours later he reported a second attack, this time on Khamis Mushait, a city in the southwest close to the Yemeni border. “A cruise missile launched by the Houthi militia toward Khamis Mushait was intercepted and destroyed,” al-Maliki wrote on X.
There were no reports of casualties or damage, and the Houthis had not commented on the launches by Sunday afternoon.
A war that keeps widening
The attacks continue a campaign in which the Iran-backed group has struck at Saudi airports, refineries and air bases. Saudi Arabia has accused the Houthis of aiming missiles towards Makkah and Madina, a charge the group denies, and the coalition has kept up air strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has led the coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government since 2015.
Indian travellers grounded
The strikes have hit travel between India and Saudi Arabia hard. Air India has halted its Riyadh and Dammam flights until 7 November, and Indian Umrah pilgrims have been left stranded by the cancellations. With missiles still being fired at Riyadh on Sunday, there is little sign of an early return to normal schedules.