Saudi-Led Coalition Says It Destroyed a Houthi Ballistic Missile Aimed at Riyadh as Alerts Sound in Three Areas

The Saudi-led military coalition says it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels towards the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Emergency alerts were issued in Riyadh and two other areas in connection with the incident, before authorities said the immediate danger had passed.

The missile interception and the alerts were reported on Saturday (24 October), citing Al Jazeera. A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition said in a post on X that the country's air defences had detected the ballistic missile fired by the Houthis and then intercepted and destroyed it.

Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Maliki said the missile aimed at Riyadh was brought down just after 4am. Earlier, at around 1am, air defence forces had also intercepted and destroyed two drones fired by the Houthis towards the south of the country, he said.

Before that, Saudi Arabia's civil defence authority had issued emergency alerts in Riyadh, Najran and Wadi al-Dawasir. Authorities later said the risk of immediate danger in those areas had passed. Residents were urged to follow safety guidance, avoid gathering in crowds and refrain from filming the incident.

On Friday, a ballistic missile fired towards Khamis Mushait was also intercepted midway, the Saudi coalition said. The coalition had earlier also reported destroying a drone in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. In other words, attempted attacks from several directions and claims of thwarting them have emerged at the same time.

According to the coalition, in October alone the Houthis have fired at least 14 ballistic missiles and more than 60 drones at Saudi Arabia. Alongside Riyadh and Khamis Mushait, missile attacks were also attempted on Najran, the Eastern Province and, on 15 October, the Madina region, according to the coalition's report.

The Houthis are accused of regularly targeting airports, energy facilities and civilian infrastructure in their attacks. According to a Saudi Press Agency (SPA) report, the attacks this month have so far killed 24 people and injured at least 374.

The deadliest incident was at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport. In a series of attacks on the airport between 7 and 11 October, 18 people were killed and more than 333 injured. On 10 October alone, 13 people were killed and 309 injured. There were also fatalities at Abha International Airport, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and the Shaybah oil facility.

The United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Egypt and the Muslim World League have strongly condemned the Houthis' continuing attacks, citing violations of Saudi sovereignty and international law. Bahrain demanded effective action by the international community to stop the attacks immediately and warned that the escalation threatens regional stability and global energy security.

Alongside the military activity, the Houthis have also adopted a new propaganda strategy to influence public opinion against Saudi Arabia. For several weeks the group has been campaigning through statements, videos, songs, speeches and social media, using documents linked to the notorious American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a tool. In particular, it is criticising Saudi Arabia over information that a cloth resembling the Kaaba's covering was gifted to Epstein.

Houthi president Mahdi al-Mashat has spoken on the issue. Yemeni comedian Mustafa al-Momari, who has more than 2.7 million followers on X, has published a video on the subject, and a traditional Yemeni singer has written a song about the allegation. Epstein has also featured in speeches by Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi. Saudi officials, however, have not publicly reacted to the allegations, according to The New York Times. Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019; officials said he had taken his own life.

The background stretches back years. After the Houthis seized Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2015, Saudi Arabia intervened directly in Yemen's civil war in support of the internationally recognised government, seeking to curb Iranian influence and avoid chaos on its border. A UN-brokered truce followed in 2022, but that fragile peace broke down this year and fighting has resumed.

Taken together, the missile fired at Riyadh and the campaign over the Epstein-linked documents show two different faces of the tension between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. On one side is the military threat and air-defence activity; on the other, an attempt at political propaganda using religious sentiment and social media.

Attention will now rest on where this cycle of attacks and counter-claims leads, and how far diplomatic efforts go to reduce regional tension. Independently verified information and formal statements from the parties involved will remain essential to assessing the coalition's account of the missile firing and the Houthis' allegations separately.