LONDON: British fighter planes will be deployed to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against increasing attacks from Yemen’s Houthi-led Ansarallah forces, the UK government announced on Tuesday.
The defence ministry said the deployment formed part of “additional defensive military support” to Riyadh.
“The UK will fly defensive counter air missions to support the protection of Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure against aerial attack, using RAF Typhoon fighter jets,” the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement.
“These aircraft will operate in a defensive role and will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis.” Britain will also deploy a military transport aircraft “to support the movement of defence material within Saudi Arabia alongside UK military advisers to support Saudi staff officers”, the statement added.
Kingdom says it has intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh; UN seeks access to besieged city of Taiz
“The continuing attacks from the Houthis on our ally Saudi Arabia are absolutely despicable,” said defence minister Wes Streeting.
The Saudi capital’s international airport has been targeted by Ansarallah forces’ strikes 20 times since the beginning of the month.
The Ansarallah forces have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, hitting its tankers, seizing swathes of Yemen’s Red Sea coast vital for oil exports and causing energy prices to jump, while also raining missiles on the kingdom.
Yemen’s civil war — in which Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting the Yemen government since 2015 — reignited in September after the collapse of a years-long truce.
Saudis intercept ballistic missile
Saudi forces on Tuesday said they had intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at the kingdom’s capital, after authorities issued a danger warning and journalists reported hearing blasts.
The kingdom “intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh”, said Turki Al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition.
Riyadh was shaken by two blasts, according to journalists present in the capital.
“A warning has been issued by the National Early Warning Platform in Riyadh City to alert for a potential danger,” the Saudi civil defence said in a statement on X.
But the alert was lifted a few minutes later, with the civil defence saying “the danger has passed”.
Later in the evening, Al-Malki reported a drone interception in the Riyadh area.
Attacks by Houthi-led Ansarallah forces on Saudi Arabia have reached an unprecedented scale, forcing the postponement of a major investment conference.
The deadly attacks by Ansarallah forces forced Riyadh airport to shut.
Death toll rises to 73
The Saudi Arabia-backed Yemeni government authorities on Tuesday raised the death toll from a Houthi-led Ansarallah strike a day earlier on a military camp of government forces to 73, as fighting between the foes escalates.
It marked the deadliest attack in weeks as fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-supported government rages.
The death toll from Monday’s strike on the camp in the energy-rich Shabwa province “increased to 73 martyrs, while search and follow-up efforts are ongoing to discover the fate of 14 missing people”, the provincial authorities said.
UN seeks access to Taiz
The UN said aid must immediately be allowed to enter Yemen’s Taiz, besieged by Houthi-led Ansarallah forces. The Ansarallah forces have encircled Taiz since early October, blocking its road link to Aden.
“Humanitarian aid must be immediately allowed to enter the city and its passage must be facilitated,” UN human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.
He said relief must reach the city to avert a rights catastrophe. He said the Houthis’ closure of the only supply route linking Taiz to Aden is placing civilians at grave risk, blocking humanitarian aid and cutting off essential supplies.
Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2026
