• Coalition says it also shot down a drone; Houthis claim strikes on Riyadh airport and oil facility
• Officials inspect damaged Aramco building

RIYADH / SANAA: The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on Tuesday it had shot down missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthis towards several Saudi cities, amid an escalation in hostilities, while the Houthis reported Saudi air strikes on the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.

The coalition said it had intercepted a ballistic missile and a cruise missile fired by the group towards Riyadh, as well as a ballistic missile aimed at the kingdom’s southern region and a drone over the oil-rich east.

Saudi civil defence authorities issued alerts in the capital and the southern cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait, later saying the threats had passed.

In the early hours of the morning, AFP journalists heard blasts, while residents received a mobile-phone alert urging them to shelter from an “aerial threat”.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and an oil facility in Abqaiq in the east. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi-run Saba news agency reported that Saudi Arabia had carried out air strikes on Sanaa, hitting a petrol station in the Jadar district north of the capital and a building belonging to the state oil company in southern Sanaa.

Hostilities between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have been escalating. Riyadh leads a military coalition that has backed Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which was driven from Sanaa by the Houthis more than a decade ago.

The Houthis said on Tuesday they had attacked Saudi Arabia’s vital East-West Pipeline in Riyadh province, while denying a Saudi claim that they had targeted the pipeline in the Madina region. Saudi state media reported on Monday that an attack on the pipeline in Madina province had caused a limited fire but had not affected operations.

Riyadh’s schoolchildren, after two days back in the classroom, returned to online learning on Tuesday “as part of the ongoing precautionary measures”, according to a message to parents on Monday evening.

Aramco office inspected

The latest developments came two days after the Houthis struck a skyscraper belonging to oil giant Aramco in Riyadh’s financial district.

The Houthi attacks have cast a shadow over Saudi Arabia’s efforts to overhaul its oil-reliant economy by attracting foreign investment and promoting tourism and leisure spending.

Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District is one of the most visible manifestations of the drive, with towering glass skyscrapers, high-end retail outlets and green spaces.

Images released by the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday showed Riyadh officials inspecting the distinctively designed Aramco Tower, with visible damage to several floors.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2026