Blasts heard in Riyadh after Houthis say Saudi strike kills 12

The Houthis and the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government have exchanged daily attacks since a years-long truce fell apart over the summer.

30 Oct 2026 11:24AM

RIYADH: The Iran-backed Houthis reported on Thursday (Oct 29) deadly strikes on residential areas of western Yemen, blamed on their Saudi foe, while explosions later rocked Riyadh, weeks into intensified violence.

The Houthis and the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government have exchanged daily attacks since a years-long truce fell apart over the summer.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said on Thursday it had downed two ballistic missiles launched by the group towards Riyadh, soon after AFP correspondents heard fresh explosions in the capital.

"Air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Riyadh," coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said on X.

Earlier, AFP correspondents in Riyadh had heard at least eight explosions as authorities warned the city was "under a hostile aerial threat" in a phone alert.

Saudi civil defence had issued warnings for "potential danger" in Riyadh, Kharj and the southern city of Najran that were lifted shortly afterwards.

The Houthis have ramped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, including by launching deadly strikes on the Riyadh airport that forced its shuttering for two weeks as flagship events were cancelled - threatening the kingdom's economic diversification plans.

More than 1,600 people have been killed in Yemen since hostilities resumed, with more than 275,000 displaced, according to United Nations figures.

"As an initial toll, 12 citizens were killed and three others were critically injured when the Saudi enemy targeted the homes of the families of Ibrahim Saeed Mohammed Ahmed Al-Qouz and Al-Raabi Saeed Mohammed Ahmed Al-Qouz in Al-Barah, Maqbana district," the Houthi health ministry said in a statement on Thursday shared by the group's Saba news agency.

On Wednesday, at least 14 people were killed in Saudi strikes on a petrol station and market, according to the Houthis, while the group targeted the airport in government stronghold Aden, wounding civilians.

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 in turn reported frequent Saudi airstrikes.

Yemen has been reeling from war since 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, with a Saudi-led coalition entering the conflict a year later in support of the government.