Saudi Arabia says it intercepted a Houthi missile and drone barrage; Riyadh airport reopens
The Houthis claimed strikes on airports and Aramco facilities as oil trades near a six-month high.
Saudi Arabia said Sunday it intercepted and destroyed a wave of missiles and drones fired by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis toward the capital Riyadh, the city of Khamis Mushait and the kingdom's southern region, while Riyadh's main airport resumed flights more than two weeks after a deadly strike knocked it out of service.
The spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition, Turki Al-Maliki, said two drones and a ballistic missile heading for Riyadh were intercepted and destroyed, along with 10 ballistic missiles aimed at the southern region and a cruise missile toward Khamis Mushait, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. The Houthis said they carried out "seven qualitative military operations" using ballistic missiles and drones, claiming targets that included King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu and other airports and energy installations.
Saudi authorities said two ballistic missiles fired toward the Mecca and Medina regions were also intercepted as the barrage continued from Saturday evening, with debris falling in Jeddah, Taif, Rabigh and Wadi Al-Mughammas in Mecca province, according to Saudi Civil Defence. Sheikh Abdulrahman Al Sudais, the head of religious affairs at the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque, called the security and sanctity of Islam’s two holiest mosques a “red line that must not be breached,” and the Gulf Cooperation Council’s secretary-general called the strikes a “grave violation of the sanctity of the Holy Sites.” The Houthis denied targeting Muslim holy sites. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said King Khalid International Airport “is not safe because it is a military target” and renewed a warning to airlines, employees and travelers.
King Khalid International Airport said it resumed operations Sunday, with Terminal 1 handling domestic flights and Terminal 2 overseas routes. The airport had suspended operations on October 10 after a strike that killed at least 13 people and injured around 300, the deadliest attack on the kingdom in more than a decade.
The exchanges keep the Middle East escalation at the center of the market's attention after Brent crude settled Friday at $116.72 a barrel, its highest since April 29, and U.S. crude at $103.27. See our Friday oil story and our story on possible new U.S. strikes on Iran.
