Large plume of black smoke rises from the fuel storage depot at King Khalid International Airport, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Reuters
Yemen’s Houthis said they attacked “sensitive” sites in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday with missiles and drones, hours after flames and a large plume of smoke were seen near the city’s main airport.
Saudi Arabia had sent alerts overnight warning of potential danger around Riyadh, amid an escalation in attacks by the Houthis in the kingdom.
Reuters video and photographs showed a huge pillar of black smoke rising in the area, with the airport highway, main terminal building and other facilities in the foreground. At one point in the video, flames were visible rising from behind what appeared to be fuel tanks.
While the Houthis have launched repeated attacks against Saudi Arabia since July, Saturday’s claim appeared to be their first reported strike on Riyadh since the current escalation began.
The Houthis did not specify what they had targeted in Riyadh, but said they had also attacked an Aramco facility in the Red Sea city of Yanbu, a key Saudi oil export hub.
They said the operation came as a response to an attack in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis said its air defences had destroyed a missile fired by the Yemeni group toward Riyadh early on Saturday.
In a statement, the coalition also said it had foiled attacks targeting civilians in the Saudi cities of Bish and Farasan in the southwest and Taif in the west, as well as Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. It did not say whether there was any damage.
Read: Houthis threaten ‘decisive’ response if Pakistan, Türkiye intervene in Yemen
Saudi civil defence sent the alerts by phone overnight for potential danger of aerial attacks in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, before issuing an all-clear on Saturday morning. A Reuters journalist in Riyadh’s Olaya area heard booms before the all-clear was sent.
Although some alerts had been issued in Riyadh this year after the start of the US-Iran war, these were the first since the escalation with the Houthis began in July.
The fighting between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia has developed as a new theatre of conflict in the wider war that began with US and Israeli strikes against Iran at the end of February. US President Donald Trump has rebuffed Saudi requests for direct US military intervention against the Houthis.
UN, Gulf Cooperation Council chiefs condemn Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) head Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi on Saturday strongly condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, warning that the group’s targeting of civilian objects poses a severe threat to regional peace and security.
Guterres received Albudaiwi in New York on the sidelines of the GCC chief’s participation in the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, according to a statement from the GCC Secretariat General.
“Both officials strongly condemned the Houthi militia’s attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and their deliberate targeting of civilian objects, underscoring the severe threat these hostile actions pose to regional peace and security,” it said.
Read more: Houthis fire ‘ballistic missile’ at Riyadh
The two officials also reviewed cooperation between the GCC and the UN, and discussed ways to deepen collaboration in areas of shared interest. They exchanged views on geopolitical developments and discussed regional issues and diplomatic efforts to resolve them.
Guterres commended “the substantial progress and prosperity achieved by GCC member states” and praised their contributions to promoting lasting stability worldwide.
US urges Americans to reconsider travel to Middle East amid rising tensions
The US on Saturday urged Americans outside the Middle East to seriously reconsider travel to and through the region, citing a complex security environment and the potential for rapid escalation.
The State Department’s Travel.Gov account on a US social media platform said Americans in the Middle East should exercise heightened vigilance and be prepared for possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and other travel disruptions.
“Due to tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation,” it said.
It warned that Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks involving civilian airports, and said the conflict “has the potential to escalate rapidly.”
Also read: Italian aircraft hit during air base attacks in Saudi Arabia
Americans traveling to or from the region were advised to monitor information on airport and airline operations.
The State Department also warned that US diplomatic facilities, including those outside the Middle East, have been targeted and that Iran and groups supporting it may target other US interests overseas or locations associated with the US and Americans worldwide, including US businesses and other institutions.
Trump cuts short Camp David stay amid rising Middle East tensions
US President Donald Trump cut short his weekend stay at Camp David and was expected to return to the White House late on Saturday, according to a White House pool report.
The White House updated the president’s schedule to show his return to Washington on Marine One, with the presidential helicopter expected to arrive at the Ellipse at about 7 pm local time (2300GMT), USA Today reporter Joey Garrison reported in a pool report.
No reason was given for the change to Trump’s schedule.
