Saudi says intercepted ‘hostile drone’ in Riyadh region

RIYADH: Saudi air defences intercepted a drone in the Riyadh region on Saturday, according to the spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis.

“Air defences intercepted and destroyed a hostile drone in the Riyadh region,” Turki al-Malki wrote on X, adding that “debris from the interception fell without causing injuries”.

Malki did not say who launched the drone.

In recent weeks, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have ramped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, including by launching deadly strikes on Riyadh airport that forced its closure for two weeks and the cancellation of flagship events — threatening the kingdom’s economic diversification plans.

On Friday, Malki said the Houthis had targeted the Medina region, home to Islam’s second holiest city, but the group later denied the claim.

The Houthi attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, airports and ships come after hostilities resumed in Yemen over the summer between the Houthis and the country’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by Riyadh. More than 1,600 people have been killed and over 275,000 displaced since the fighting reignited, according to United Nations figures.

In July, a fragile 2022 truce fell apart after the Houthis allowed an Iranian plane to land in Yemen’s capital Sanaa in defiance of Saudi control over Yemeni airspace, setting off a spate of attacks.

Later, the Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships, territory and oil facilities, before seizing Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast in a lightning campaign.

The Houthis have reported frequent Saudi airstrikes in areas they control as Riyadh retaliates.