Saudi-led coalition says it destroyed Houthi missile tunnels and launchers; Houthis claim new missile attack on Riyadh airport

Neither side’s battlefield claims can be independently confirmed.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said on Monday 26 October that an operation in Houthi-controlled territory destroyed four ballistic missile launchers, five tunnels used to store missiles and a missile depot. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said on X that the operation “focused on cutting off Houthi militia supply lines” and also targeted Houthi fortifications, fighters and equipment along the front lines, Al Jazeera reported.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and struck oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia with drones. Al-Maliki said Saudi air defences “intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile” launched towards Riyadh. The airport had reopened on Sunday after a temporary closure; the Houthis had warned travellers to avoid it, calling it a “military target”.

Saree also said the Houthis fired ballistic missiles at government forces and weapons depots in Aden and Lahij provinces, without providing evidence. Residents of Houthi-held Sanaa and the Red Sea coast reported explosions, and in the port city of Mokha, residents said rockets hit several buildings, including a hospital, according to The Times of Israel, citing the Associated Press.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and his office said he “responded favourably” to a Saudi request to keep a Greek Patriot air-defence battery deployed in the kingdom since 2021.

Background: A Houthi attack on Riyadh’s airport earlier this month killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, Al Jazeera reported. Fighting in Yemen escalated after a 2022 truce collapsed, with the Houthis seizing much of the Red Sea coast and attacking Saudi airports and energy sites; Saudi Arabia backs Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which this month launched a counteroffensive. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey discussed the Yemen war in Tehran on Monday, according to regional officials. See also: Houthi media say Saudi-led airstrikes on Sanaa killed 11 people.