Houthis Claim New Attacks in Riyadh as Conflict Deepens

The Houthis, who control most of northwest Yemen, captured swaths of coastal land from Yemen’s pro-government forces last month after the country’s civil war reignited in July.

The internationally recognized government this week declared a counter-offensive and claims to have uprooted Houthi fighters from strategic areas on the Red Sea and the port city of Mocha.

But the Iran-backed Houthis say they are holding their territory, and military sources from both sides contacted by AFP have not reported any major changes on the ground.

“Our armed forces have just targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile. The strike was accurate, by God’s grace, and led to a disruption of air traffic,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Oct. 7 in a post on X. 

The Saudi-led military coalition that backs Yemen’s government said the missile was intercepted.

In a separate post the Houthis also said they targeted military supplies at a camp area near the airport in the Yemeni city of Aden, the interim capital for the government.

The Yemeni government’s Saba news agency reported missiles and drones targeting that airport.

Saree earlier said drones and missiles also targeted Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport and King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait and had “hit their targets accurately.”

It is the second time this week that the Houthis claimed to have attacked the main airport in the Saudi capital.

Saudi Arabia leads an international coalition that has been fighting the Houthis since 2015, and is now trying to roll back the group’s latest advance.

On Oct. 6, the coalition said it was providing air support for the counter-offensive launched by the Yemeni government forces.

After a four-year ceasefire, Yemen’s civil war re-erupted in July. Last month the Houthis seized the entire western coastline along the Red Sea in the country’s deadliest fighting in years.

The renewed violence has also deepened the wider Middle East war, which has roiled world energy markets and snarled shipping routes in the region. 

Yemen’s government has announced a goal of retaking all Houthi territory, home to most of the country’s population, and much of it held for more than a decade.