Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi military coalition, announced on 13/10 that air defenses intercepted three cruise missiles and two UAVs in the Riyadh area and the south.
Minutes later, the coalition reported downing one more missile targeting Riyadh and another UAV over the city. Loud explosions were heard in the Saudi capital, while residents received an alert stating the "city is facing an aerial threat".
A witness recounted seeing "an object fly across the sky towards a shopping center, trailing a yellow light and a streak of smoke" before hearing an explosion, while walking on an avenue in Riyadh. "No one spoke a word, we felt scared and everyone looked up at the sky," the person said.
Saudi Civil Defense announced on 14/10 that 4 people were injured in Riyadh from debris of two Houthi missiles that were shot down, and 15 houses were damaged.
The Saudi Ministry of Energy stated that a small fire broke out at the administrative building of the Aramco oil company in Dhahran city, Eastern Province, with no casualties reported.
The Houthi group has not commented on the information.
Previously, Houthi warned of "fierce and painful retaliation" against Riyadh if Saudi Arabia attacked Yemen's capital, Sanaa. Houthi also urged residents to evacuate and stay away from three areas: Aramco's headquarters in Dammam, the company's oil refinery, and King Khalid Airport in Riyadh.
On the same day, the Saudi coalition conducted airstrikes on Yemen's capital Sanaa, and the provinces of Dhamar and Saada, targeting facilities used by Houthi for military operations. Houthi's Al-Masirah channel reported that one of the targets attacked was an oil and gas facility in Al-Sabaha, west of Sanaa.
These tit-for-tat attacks occurred after Houthi targeted several Saudi airports and oil infrastructure. The most serious incident happened on 10/10, when a missile struck King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, resulting in 13 deaths and over 300 injuries.
Houthi gained control of Yemen's capital Sanaa in 9/2014. Saudi Arabia led a military coalition to intervene in Yemen in 3/2015, with the conflict subsiding after a United Nations-brokered ceasefire in 2022.
Fighting between Houthi and the internationally recognized Yemeni government, supported by Saudi Arabia, reignited in 7. The armed group also declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia and targeted its vessels in the Red Sea.
Nguyen Tien (According to Reuters, AFP)
