Saudi-led coalition says defences intercept Houthi missile fired at Riyadh

This was the first time an alert was sounded in Riyadh since an escalation between the Houthis in Yemen and the Saudis.Published On 19 Sep 202619 Sep 2026Saudi-led coalition forces fighting Yemen’s Houthis have said that the Iran-backed group fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh at dawn before it was intercepted and destroyed.“The Houthis also attempted to target civilians and civilian infrastructure in Bisha, Taif, Farasan and Yanbu,” coalition forces spokesman Major-General Turki al-Maliki wrote on X on Saturday, adding that the attacks were thwarted by the Gulf monarchy’s air defences.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of launching 26 attacks in 24 hourslist 2 of 4Could US pull one-third of troops from Europe? What that would meanlist 3 of 4US lifts sanctions on Eritrea ‘to advance US regional interests’ in Red Sealist 4 of 4Iran says conditions to re-engage in talks, end war sent to US via Qatarend of listSaudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat” and issued a string of emergency alerts across the kingdom overnight on Friday.On Saturday, at least one explosion was heard in Riyadh, with residents near the airport saying they saw a larg...