Fighters loyal to Houthi authorities brandish weapons during a rally to recruit more fighters in Sanaa, October 7, 2026.
Mohamed Huwais | AFP | Getty Images
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Saturday it had destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-aligned group toward Taif and Yanbu as fighting continued between the two sides.
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense Authority issued a temporary alert warning residents of potential danger in Taif and Yanbu, as well as the holy city of Mecca and the kingdom’s second city, Jeddah.
After about 10 minutes, authorities announced the threat had passed.
The intercept came two days after the Houthis announced attacks on the Saudi Ministry of Defense in Riyadh, oil giant Saudi Aramco’s facilities in the Red Sea city of Yanbu and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, where Saudi authorities said two people were killed.
Saudi authorities have not confirmed the reported attacks in Riyadh and Yanbu.
Six people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday that Aramco had instructed employees to evacuate its headquarters in the coastal city of Dhahran.
The Saudi-led coalition said Thursday it intercepted a drone over Riyadh and Medina, near Yanbu. On Wednesday, the Houthis denied launching a drone toward Medina after coalition forces said they had intercepted a drone over holy sites and eastern Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this month, the Houthis warned airlines not to use Saudi airspace, excluding only the airspace over Mecca and Medina, as they stepped up attacks on the kingdom.
The resumption of fighting has shattered a U.N.-brokered 2022 ceasefire agreement that largely halted cross-border attacks between the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa. This escalation has opened a new front in the US and Israel’s war against Iran.
