Saudi coalition says it intercepted Houthi missile targeting Eastern Province

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Thursday it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the group at the kingdom’s eastern region.

“Air defences intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the Eastern Province,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki posted on X.

Saudi Arabia has this month come under sustained attack from the Iran-backed Houthis, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport that was the kingdom’s deadliest in years.

The Houthis said this week they had targeted the Ras Tanura refinery in the oil-rich Eastern Province with a ballistic missile.

Tehran has denied having anything to do with attacks by the Houthis after Saudi Arabia accused Iran of having encouraged the group’s escalation against the kingdom.

Following an uneasy four-year truce, fighting reignited in Yemen in July, months into the US-Iran conflict that has plunged the wider region into crisis.