Saudi Arabia’s capital targeted in Houthi missile attack

Seven ballistic missiles which were fired from Yemen have been intercepted in Saudi Arabia, one of which was destroyed over the capital Riyadh, military officials say. At least one person was killed by falling debris.

The attack in Riyadh happened at about 11:30 p.m. local time on Sunday when multiple loud explosions were heard across much of the capital city. Doors and windows shook across a large area, and some windows broke, according to residents.

Colonel Turki bin Saleh Al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition, said that seven ballistic missiles from Yemen were fired into Saudi Arabia. Three of them targeted Riyadh, two targeted the port city of Jazan, and one each targeted Khamis Mushayt and Najran.

All of the missiles were intercepted before they reached their targets, Al-Malki said, but debris rained down in some neighborhoods. Video on social media also showed that one of the interceptors failed and crashed in a sparsely populated area of Riyadh, causing a large explosion.

At least one person was killed by falling debris, officials said, though it was not immediately clear whether the victim was killed by a Houthi missile or the interceptor which crashed. The victim was identified as a resident who was originally from Egypt.

The Houthi-run SABA news agency in Yemen confirmed that Houthis had fired multiple missiles into Saudi Arabia. One of them, a Burkan-2H ballistic missile, was targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the news agency said.

Over the past year, several ballistic missiles have been fired into Saudi Arabia by Houthi fighters in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting the Houthis to return President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi to power.

A ballistic missile was intercepted near Riyadh in early November, prompting Saudi Arabia to impose a blockade on Yemen. At least one of the missiles which were fired on Sunday appeared to have come significantly closer to Riyadh than past missiles were able to.