Yemen’s Houthis claim ballistic missile strike on King Khalid airport in Riyadh

Yemen’s Houthi group said Thursday that it targeted King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh with a ballistic missile and that it struck its target.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement that the missile disrupted air traffic there.

Saree warned all airlines worldwide “for the last time” about the consequences of continuing their flights in Saudi airspace.

He said Saudi airspace has become “a theater” for the Houthis’ military operations while saying the airspace over the Muslim holy sites in Mecca and Medina is excluded from the warning.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.

The military escalation that began in July has marked the most extensive fighting in Yemen since the relative calm that followed a UN-brokered truce in April 2022.

As clashes intensified in September, the Houthis seized several key areas in Hudaydah and Taiz provinces and advanced as far as Mayyun Island in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.