According to coalition spokesman Turki al‑Malki’s post on X, Saudi air defences successfully intercepted and destroyed the missile before it could reach its target in the city, while a secondary explosion set fire to a fuel storage tank bearing the Saudi oil giant’s logo at a depot adjacent to the airport.
AFP journalists on the scene confirmed that firefighters had contained the blaze on the fuel tank and captured footage of thick black smoke rising above the airport’s terminals, prompting FlightRadar24 to flag “major problems” at King Khalid International before traffic returned to normal.
The coalition said the Houthi militia also attempted to strike civilian infrastructure in the southern cities of Bisha, Taif, Farasan and Yanbu, but those attacks were likewise thwarted by Saudi air defences.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, in a Telegram statement, claimed the group had carried out “two successful military operations” using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, targeting “sensitive sites” in Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu.
The missile launch follows a rapid Houthi offensive that has seized large swathes of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, threatening the Bab el‑Mandeb strait and prompting Saudi Arabia to intensify air strikes on Houthi‑held territory, though the coalition admits the strikes have not halted the rebel advance.
Residents of Riyadh reported hearing explosions and feeling windows shake as an alert urged them to stay indoors; the civil‑defence agency lifted the warning about half an hour later. The incident marks the first time since the Yemen war resumed that the Saudi capital has been directly threatened by missile fire.
The United Nations estimates the renewed fighting has displaced more than 112,000 people and forced nearly 3,000 to flee across the Red Sea to Djibouti. Meanwhile, the United States recently approved a $24.3 billion package of 48 F‑35 fighter jets for Saudi Arabia, a move analysts say could embolden Riyadh’s escalation but also underscores the diplomatic push for a negotiated settlement.