Saudi defences intercept missiles and drones aimed at Makkah, Madinah and Riyadh, coalition says
The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted two missiles and three drones launched by the Houthis towards Riyadh, Makkah and Madinah on Friday and Saturday, as the cross-border campaign widens.
Saudi air defences have intercepted and destroyed two missiles and three drones launched by Yemen's Houthi militia towards several regions of the kingdom, including Riyadh, Makkah and Madinah, the Saudi-led coalition said on Saturday. The announcement covers attacks on Friday and Saturday and is the latest sign of how far the cross-border campaign has widened.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said air defence forces brought down a cruise missile launched towards the western region and a ballistic missile targeting the southern region. Three drones launched towards Riyadh, Makkah and Madinah were also intercepted and destroyed, he said, according to the Saudi Gazette.
The latest interceptions followed a similar pattern the day before. On Thursday, Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched towards Riyadh and another ballistic missile targeting the Eastern Province, Al-Maliki said. Separate coalition statements on Friday and Saturday morning reported a drone over the Makkah region, a drone near Riyadh, a missile aimed at the southern region, and two further drones over the Eastern and southern regions.
The Houthis have denied targeting Islam's two holiest cities. Military spokesman Yahya Saree dismissed the coalition's account of an attack towards Saudi territory as false, and the group has repeatedly rejected previous coalition accusations that it launched drones towards Makkah and Madinah. The coalition, for its part, has continued to publish interception announcements through its spokesman.
Saudi Civil Defence issued safety instructions to residents after the attacks, urging the public to follow official guidance in the event of further alerts. No casualties or damage from the intercepted projectiles were reported in the coalition statements.
The attacks on the holy cities carry particular weight in Saudi Arabia and across the Muslim world. Makkah and Madinah are home to Islam's holiest sites, and any suggestion that they are within range of missile or drone attacks is treated in Riyadh as a major escalation, even when the projectiles are intercepted before reaching their targets.
The interceptions come amid a wider intensification of the conflict. The Houthis have repeatedly struck Saudi energy sites and airports in recent weeks, while the Saudi-led coalition has carried out strikes against Houthi-held areas of Yemen. The Houthi military spokesman said on Friday that the coalition had launched 93 strikes against Yemen over the previous 24 hours, a figure that could not be independently verified.
The campaign has already had deadly consequences for civilians. A missile strike on Riyadh's King Khalid Airport on 10 October killed 13 travellers and injured more than 300 people, according to reports cited by Aaj English, and repeated attacks on airports have forced airlines to cancel or suspend services to Saudi cities.
For travellers and residents, the practical effects are growing. Airlines including flydubai and Etihad have cancelled services to Dammam, Riyadh and other Saudi cities through early November, while other carriers have extended suspensions of Gulf routes into late November and beyond, citing the security situation.
Whether the latest interceptions mark a further escalation or a continuation of the pattern of recent weeks will depend on what follows. For now, the coalition's message is that its air defences are holding, while the Houthis' denial over Makkah and Madinah leaves the two sides publicly disputing the facts of the most sensitive attacks of all.
