Saudi-led coalition shoots down Houthi cruise missile aimed at Riyadh

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said Saturday it intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile launched by the Iran-backed militia toward the Riyadh area.

Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said the missile was neutralized before it reached its target. The intercept followed a drone shoot-down over the Riyadh region late Friday and comes amid a surge in Houthi attacks on the kingdom — including ballistic missiles aimed at Najran earlier Friday that Saudi air defenses also knocked down.

Arab News reported the cruise-missile claim alongside prior Friday intercepts of two ballistic missiles toward Najran and a drone in the Makkah region. The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Saudi civilian facilities, airports and energy infrastructure as the wider Iran conflict continues.