Saudi Arabia Intercepts Ballistic Missile Fired at Riyadh by Houthis
- local time on Saturday and targeted civilian areas in Riyadh, according to a statement from the Saudi-led coalition carried by state television network al-Ekbariya.
- According to Yemen's Houthi-controlled Defense Ministry, the operation successfully shook the Saudi capital using a Yemeni-made, long-range missile identified as the Burqan 2H.
- While Saudi authorities maintained that the missile was successfully intercepted and destroyed in mid-air, a senior Yemeni air force official disputed the official Saudi account in statements provided...
Missile Interception Over Riyadh
The projectile was fired at 8:07 p.m. local time on Saturday and targeted civilian areas in Riyadh, according to a statement from the Saudi-led coalition carried by state television network al-Ekbariya. The Saudi Ministry of Defense stated that a Patriot missile defense system intercepted the incoming threat over northeast Riyadh, causing shrapnel to fall over an uninhabited area east of the airport. The Saudi-led coalition reported zero injuries from the incident.
According to Yemen’s Houthi-controlled Defense Ministry, the operation successfully shook the Saudi capital using a Yemeni-made, long-range missile identified as the Burqan 2H. AbdulSalam added that the missile launch served as a response to civilian casualties in Yemen.
Differing Accounts and Regional Fallout
Contrasting claims emerged immediately following the event. While Saudi authorities maintained that the missile was successfully intercepted and destroyed in mid-air, a senior Yemeni air force official disputed the official Saudi account in statements provided to CNN, asserting that heavy fires were visible within the King Khalid International Airport premises.
Meanwhile, airport officials in Riyadh utilized social media to reassure travelers.
Following the missile launch, the Saudi-led coalition accused an unnamed regional state of providing material support and weaponry to the Houthi movement. The coalition stated that the attack threatens the security of the Kingdom and regional and international security,
pointing to Iran as the primary adversary in the proxy conflict. Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government since Houthi forces displaced it from the capital of Sanaa in 2015.
International Reactions and Subsequent Airstrikes
United States President Donald Trump commented on the defense mechanism utilized during the attack while traveling aboard Air Force One on Sunday. Praising the technology, Trump told reporters, We make the best military equipment in the world. … You saw the missile that went out? And our system knocked the missile out of the air. That’s how good we are. Nobody makes what we make, and now we’re selling it all over the world.
Retaliatory actions followed later on Saturday when airstrikes conducted by the Saudi-led coalition targeted Yemen’s capital Sanaa. CNN’s reporting from Sanaa noted that the nighttime airstrikes shook residential homes and shattered windows for the first time in weeks. Concurrently, the United Nations Human Rights Office reported tracking a total of 13,829 civilian casualties in Yemen, including 5,110 deaths, from the commencement of the conflict through late August 2017.