RIYADH ( WNAM MONITORING): Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issued alerts early Saturday warning of potential danger in Riyadh and the nearby city of Al-Kharj before sending an all-clear minutes later, as attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi forces against the Kingdom intensify.
A similar alert was also issued in Farasan Islands in the Kingdom’s southwest. The nature of the threat was not immediately specified.
The alert marked an unusual development for the Saudi capital, where residents received mobile-phone warnings of potential danger before a second advisory said that the threat had passed.
Civil Defense had issued similar alerts in several parts of the Kingdom on Friday, including Jeddah and Taif in Makkah province, Khamis Mushayt in Asir province and AlUla in Madinah province.
The latest warnings came hours after Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had foiled what he called “criminal attempts” that he alleged Saudi Arabia had carried out in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, and vowed a response, Reuters reported.
The Houthis, who control Sanaa and much of northern and western Yemen, have sharply escalated attacks against Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, including strikes involving drones and missiles as fighting has intensified in Yemen.
The escalation follows the group’s announcement in July of a naval blockade targeting Saudi-linked vessels in the Red Sea.
The attacks have increasingly affected populated areas and vital infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia.
On Thursday, debris from a Houthi drone that was intercepted and destroyed fell in Taif, killing a Yemeni resident and injuring a Saudi woman and a Pakistani resident, who was critically wounded. Several buildings and vehicles were also damaged.
The incident came two days after Saudi air defenses intercepted a drone south of Makkah that authorities said was attempting to enter the holy city’s airspace. Saudi officials described the attempted attack as a major escalation. Reuters reported that the Houthis denied targeting Makkah.
Earlier this month, Houthi attacks on southern Saudi Arabia injured dozens of people and damaged energy-related facilities, according to Saudi authorities. The renewed fighting represents the most serious escalation since a UN-brokered truce in 2022 halted large-scale fighting in Yemen.
Saudi Arabia has also faced attacks from Iran-aligned Iraqi militias. On Sept. 11, the Kingdom temporarily shut its East-West Pipeline after several drones struck in the Riyadh and Madinah regions, injuring several people. Saudi Arabia said the drones had been launched from Iraq and gave Baghdad an opportunity to take measures to prevent further attacks.
The pipeline is strategically important because it allows Saudi oil exports to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has also been disrupted by the wider regional conflict.
The latest wave of Houthi attacks comes as fighting has intensified along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The UN migration agency said Friday that at least 112,000 people had recently been displaced inside Yemen, while nearly 3,000 had fled by sea to Djibouti.
The Houthis’ growing presence along the Red Sea has also heightened concerns over the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, a major maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and an important route for global energy and commercial shipping.
