Houthis Claim New Attack on Riyadh Airport and Oil Pumping Stations as Coalition Strikes Missile Launchers

Yemen's Houthi group said early on Monday that it had attacked King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile and had struck crude oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia with drones. The claim came one day after the airport reopened to international flights following a two week closure, and Saudi officials said air defences had intercepted a missile launched toward the capital.

A claim posted on X, and an interception confirmed in Riyadh

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement posted on X that the group fired a ballistic missile toward the airport in the Saudi capital, Anadolu reported. Saree also said Houthi forces used drones against pumping stations along the East-West crude oil pipeline, a major route across the kingdom to the Red Sea coast.

Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense Directorate said its early warning system had issued a danger alert for Riyadh after the reported missile threat, Anadolu reported. Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki confirmed that a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Riyadh had been intercepted, Anadolu reported. AFP reported the same interception on Monday, quoting al-Maliki saying air defences intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched toward Riyadh.

There was no immediate confirmation of damage or casualties from the reported attacks on the airport or the oil facilities, Anadolu reported. The Houthis said the airport attack struck its target with precision, according to a post by Saree reported by AFP. Saudi officials did not confirm that account.

Coalition says it hit launchers, a depot and tunnels

The Saudi led coalition said it had struck Houthi missile facilities in response. Al-Maliki posted on X on Monday that the operation destroyed four ballistic missile launchers, as well as a missile depot and tunnels used by the Houthis, AFP reported. He said the operation focused on cutting off Houthi supply lines between areas under their control.

Reuters reported earlier on Monday that the coalition said it had destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in Sanaa, including one used to fire a missile toward Riyadh that it said it had intercepted. Reuters also reported the Houthi claim against the pumping stations and the airport, with no immediate Saudi confirmation at that time.

A reopening that lasted one day before the next claim

The airport reopened on Sunday and flights resumed, with the Houthis warning travellers to avoid the facility and calling it a military target, AFP reported. Saree had warned that the airport was still unsafe and that Saudi Arabia would bear the consequences of any operations there.

The closure began after an attack this month that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, the deadliest attack in the kingdom in more than a decade, AFP reported. On Sunday, the coalition said air defences intercepted at least 10 ballistic missiles, and the civil defence agency said two people were injured in the south by falling debris, AFP reported.

Why the pipeline claim matters

The East-West Pipeline is operated by state owned Saudi Aramco and runs about 1,200 kilometres from the Abqaiq area in eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port city of Yanbu, Anadolu reported. It carries crude oil from facilities in the east to refineries and export terminals on the western coast, and serves as an alternative route to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.