Four Launchers Destroyed in Houthi Strike

Four ballistic missile launchers and five storage tunnels were destroyed by the Saudi-led coalition on Monday, according to coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki. The military operation was described as an effort to neutralize sources of threat against the armed group known as the Houthis. Al-Maliki stated that the strikes focused on cutting off supply lines between areas under Houthi control and targeted fortifications and military equipment along front lines inside Yemen.

The offensive occurred as the Houthis claimed fresh attacks on infrastructure in both Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group struck Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile. He described the hit as precise. Al-Maliki responded that Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed the missile before it reached its intended target. Saree also claimed drone strikes on oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia and additional missile attacks on weapons depots in the Salah al-Din area of Aden governorate and the al-Wahat area of Lahij governorate.

These exchanges follow a wave of strikes in recent weeks against Saudi airports and other infrastructure. A Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport earlier this month killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. That event marked the deadliest attack on the kingdom in over a decade. The incident forced a temporary closure of the airport and led to the postponement of Saudi Arabia’s flagship investment conference until 2027. Flights resumed on Sunday after the closure, despite Houthi warnings to travelers that the facility was a military target.

The conflict reignited in the summer when the Houthis announced a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia had intervened in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government against the Houthis, who seized the capital Sanaa in 2014. A 2022 truce that halted most fighting collapsed last month. The Houthis launched a rapid offensive, seizing much of Yemen’s Red Sea coast from government forces and targeting Saudi energy facilities. Yemen’s government forces launched a counteroffensive this month called Operation Yemen Dawn to recapture territory.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the airport resumed operations. His office said Mitsotakis agreed to keep a US-made Patriot air defense system in Saudi Arabia. The battery, deployed by Greece in 2021, protects energy infrastructure in Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. The decision came amid challenging circumstances for the kingdom’s security posture.

The Saudi-led coalition said air defenses intercepted at least 10 ballistic missiles on Sunday. The kingdom’s civil defense agency reported that two people were injured in the south by falling debris. Several buildings and vehicles sustained damage. Images released by the official press agency showed a building with part of its upper facade destroyed, exposing metal rods. Another photo captured large windows shattered, with glass shards strewn across the pavement and part of the road.

The Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, continue to coordinate attacks from Yemen. The coalition maintains that its strikes are necessary to reduce the group’s ability to project power across the region. Al-Maliki emphasized that the operation targeted specific military assets rather than civilian areas. Saree maintained that the Houthi forces successfully engaged enemy positions in multiple governorates.