Saudi-led coalition intercepts ballistic missile launched towards Riyadh

RIYADH: A Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels said on Saturday it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched towards the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The interception came amid heightened security alerts in several parts of Saudi Arabia. The kingdom’s civil defence authorities separately announced that danger had passed in Riyadh, Najran and Wadi Al-Dawasir governorate, following earlier alerts over potential threats.

The coalition also said it had intercepted and destroyed a drone over Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, according to a separate statement issued earlier on Saturday.

The latest incidents come amid continuing regional tensions and threats to security across the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia’s air defence forces also intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels towards Riyadh on October 23, as civil defence authorities issued early warning alerts in the capital and the southern Najran region. The alerts were lifted within a short period after authorities confirmed that the immediate danger had passed.

The developments came amid heightened regional security tensions, although Saudi officials did not directly link the incidents to other events. Separately, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Statistics announced that the UN Global Data Forum and the Second Saudi Statistical Forum, scheduled for November 9-12 in Riyadh, had been postponed until 2027, without specifying a reason or linking the decision to the security situation.