The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said on Monday it had carried out a military operation destroying Houthi missile infrastructure, as the Houthis said they launched fresh attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the operation destroyed four ballistic missile launchers and five tunnels used by the Houthis to store missiles. In a post on X, he said coalition forces also attacked a missile depot, fortifications, and focused on "cutting off Houthi militia supply lines."
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree later said the group had struck Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile, claiming it struck "the target with precision." An earlier attack on the airport this month killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, leading to its temporary closure. The airport reopened on Sunday, but the Houthis have warned travellers to avoid it, calling it a "military target."
Saree also claimed responsibility for drone strikes on Saudi oil pumping stations and ballistic missile attacks on "enemy" forces in the Aden and Lahij governorates of Yemen. Al-Maliki said Saudi air defences had intercepted a missile launched towards Riyadh. On Sunday, the coalition said it intercepted at least 10 ballistic missiles, with Saudi civil defence reporting two injuries from falling debris.
The escalation follows the collapse of a 2022 truce. Yemen's internationally recognised government recently launched a counteroffensive called "Operation Yemen Dawn." Amid the heightened threat, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and agreed to keep a Greek-operated Patriot air defence system in the kingdom to protect energy infrastructure.