{"id":838460,"date":"2026-10-30T08:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T12:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=838460"},"modified":"2026-10-30T07:55:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T11:55:02","slug":"saudi-arabia-says-it-destroyed-two-houthi-ballistic-missiles-over-riyadh-as-shrapnel-injures-a-resident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/838460","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia says it destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles over Riyadh as shrapnel injures a resident"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Saudi<\/figure>\n

Statement issued by Saudi Civil Defense on shrapnel from two intercepted ballistic missiles in Riyadh, October 29, 2026. Image: Saudi Civil Defense (@SaudiDCD) via X<\/em><\/p>\n

Saudi air defenses destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles fired toward Riyadh on Thursday, the coalition said, and falling shrapnel slightly injured a resident and damaged a house and a car, the Civil Defense said.<\/p>\n

Major General Turki al Maliki, the coalition's spokesman, said the two missiles were launched from Yemen toward the Saudi capital, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Earlier on Thursday, the coalition said it had also intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at the Eastern Province.<\/p>\n

Early on Friday, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by the Houthis toward the Mecca region, SPA reported. It did not report any damage or injuries.<\/p>\n

In a later statement posted on X by the Civil Defense (@SaudiDCD) and carried by SPA, it said shrapnel from the interception fell in Riyadh, causing a minor injury to a citizen and material damage to a house and a vehicle. The Civil Defense had earlier issued danger warnings for Riyadh, Najran and Al Kharj, and announced about 20 minutes later that the danger had passed, Arab News reported.<\/p>\n

Journalists for Agence France Presse in Riyadh heard at least eight explosions across the city, the Arabic news account Bou'rat al Hadath (@News_1_ar) reported, citing AFP. Riyadh residents shared videos of interceptor trails in the night sky, and the account Saudi Panther (@saudipanther) listed the two Riyadh interceptions and one over the Eastern Province among the day's main events.<\/p>\n

The Houthis claimed a wider wave of attacks. According to the Yemeni defense news site Defense Line (@defenseliney), the group said it targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a missile salvo, the Ras Tanura refinery, Aramco facilities at Abqaiq and the Rabigh refinery with three ballistic missiles, and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam with a drone. Saudi authorities have not confirmed any damage at those sites, and the claims could not be independently verified.<\/p>\n

The attacks are part of a sharp escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. On Tuesday evening, debris from two other intercepted missiles damaged a building, a construction site and a vehicle in Riyadh, and on Wednesday the coalition said it intercepted a missile fired toward Taif, Arab News reported. A missile strike on King Khalid Airport on October 10 killed 13 travelers and injured more than 300, the paper said. The Houthis also claimed a strike on the Ras Tanura refinery, where Saudi officials said a fire was contained, and on Wednesday the United States Embassy in Riyadh warned of the risk of Houthi attacks on civilian airports and infrastructure across the kingdom.<\/p>\n

The escalation is being felt in daily life. Independent Arabia (@IndyArabia) reported on Thursday that terms such as "ballistic missiles," "drones" and "air interceptions" have entered the conversations of children in the Gulf, sharing clips of children discussing the alerts and reassuring their families.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia leads a coalition that has fought the Houthis since 2015 in support of Yemen's internationally recognized government. Fighting inside Yemen resumed in late June, and the World Health Organization said this week that more than 9,000 people have been killed or wounded there since August.<\/p>\n

The coalition said the two missiles fired at Riyadh on Thursday were "intercepted and destroyed," Arab News reported.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/h4>\n