Houthis claim strikes on Saudi airports and Aramco facilities; Riyadh confirms two missiles downed

Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed a wave of attacks Saturday on Saudi oil infrastructure and airports, while the Saudi-led coalition confirmed it had destroyed two ballistic missiles fired towards Yanbu and Taif.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the group targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh oil refinery, crude oil pumping stations and the East-West Pipeline. Saree also named King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, an airport in Najran and an airbase in Khamis Mushait as targets.

Saudi authorities issued no immediate confirmation of hits. Earlier Saturday, Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense briefly issued public alerts warning residents of potential danger in Taif, Yanbu, Mecca and Jeddah; the agency withdrew the warnings roughly ten minutes later, saying the threat had passed.

In Yemen, the Interior Ministry of the internationally recognised government said two Houthi missiles struck a coast guard headquarters, with a third hitting a coast guard building in the Tawahi district of Aden. Saree said the group had also targeted what he called Al-Nasr camp and a naval military base in Aden, claiming Saudi officers were overseeing mobilisation there. The Saudi-led coalition did not immediately comment on that assertion.

The Houthis warned airlines earlier this month against using Saudi airspace, exempting only the airspace over Mecca and Medina. Saturday's claimed strikes shatter a UN-brokered truce from 2022 that had largely halted cross-border attacks between the coalition and the Houthi forces, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa.