Saudi coalition downs three Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh
The Saudi-led coalition said on Sunday its air defences destroyed three ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthis, two of them towards Riyadh and one towards the Eastern Province, according to spokesman Major-General Turki al-Maliki. The Houthi-run health ministry said 33 people, including 13 children, were killed by coalition strikes on the village of al-Shariyah near Sanaa on Saturday; the claim could not be independently verified.
Fighting has intensified since Yemen’s government launched its Dawn of Yemen offensive last month to retake Houthi-held territory including Sanaa. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed 105 coalition strikes in 24 hours across eight governorates and 4,369 since the escalation began. The UN says more than 1,600 people have been killed and almost 300,000 displaced since the 2022 ceasefire collapsed in July after the Houthis declared a blockade of Saudi ports. The missiles on Riyadh open a second Gulf front at the moment Washington is tightening its own blockade on Iran, the Houthis’ patron.