Saudi Missile Interception Debris Damages Kindergarten, Medical Complex in Riyadh
The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, said they had targeted Riyadh’s airport as part of their escalating attacks against Saudi Arabia.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Debris from the interception of a missile targeting Riyadh damaged a kindergarten and a medical complex in the Saudi capital on Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s civil defense agency said.
The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, said they had targeted Riyadh’s airport as part of their escalating attacks against Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed group said it had intercepted two missiles fired toward Riyadh. Shortly afterward, the civil defence agency reported that “interception debris” had struck the kindergarten and medical complex.
The agency did not say whether there were any casualties or provide details about the extent of the damage.
Saudi Arabia leads a coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthis. The group has repeatedly targeted Riyadh and other Saudi cities, as well as oil and other critical infrastructure.
The conflict in Yemen had largely remained dormant since 2022 but reignited in July amid a wider escalation of fighting in the Middle East. Since then, Houthi attacks against the Saudi capital have increased in frequency, with Riyadh’s airport targeted repeatedly in recent days.
On Thursday, the Houthis also warned workers to leave Saudi oil facilities, days after claiming an attack on a major refinery south of Riyadh.
The latest escalation comes as Houthi forces have expanded their territorial control in Yemen. Last month, the group seized much of the country’s Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive.
The Houthis captured Sanaa and other major population centers in 2014, prompting Saudi Arabia to intervene militarily the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.
Saudi and Yemeni government forces have since launched a counteroffensive aimed at reversing recent Houthi advances, including around strategically important areas near a major waterway used for global energy shipments.