Saudi Arabian air defenses successfully neutralized a Houthi cruise missile and an accompanying drone aimed at the Riyadh region on Saturday, November 7, 2026. This dual interception, confirmed by the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, marked two distinct attempts by the Houthi militia to strike the Saudi capital.
Major General Turki al-Maliki, the official spokesman for the coalition, stated that the cruise missile was destroyed before it could reach its intended target within the Riyadh area. This announcement followed his earlier confirmation that another aerial threat, a Houthi-launched drone, had been intercepted and eliminated in the same region on Friday, November 6, hours prior to the missile incident.
These recent incidents underscore the persistent missile and drone assaults Saudi Arabia faces from the Houthis, who maintain control over Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and several other parts of the country. Tensions in the region significantly escalated in July after a 2022 truce, brokered between the Houthis and Yemen's internationally recognized government, collapsed.
Following the truce's breakdown, the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing. In response, they declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia and resumed targeting oil tankers and energy facilities, citing restrictions on areas under their control.
Against this backdrop, October saw the launch of "Operation Dawn of Yemen" by Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council. Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi, head of the council, announced the campaign's objectives: to restore state institutions, reclaim the capital Sanaa, and dismantle Houthi control. Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, further affirmed the operation's initiation, specifying its large-scale targeting of Houthi capabilities and personnel.
The protracted conflict in Yemen originated in 2014 when the Houthis initiated an offensive against government forces, ultimately seizing Sanaa. A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in March 2015, supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government against the Houthi advances.
Image: siasat.com
đź“° Source: Siasat Gulf