Riyadh Kindergarten Hit By Interception Debris As Houthis Say Targeted Airport

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) [Editor's note: Read about the latest developments in the US-Iran war and the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis at Khaleej Times' live blog.]

The Saudi civil defence agency said a kindergarten and a medical complex in Riyadh were damaged by debris from a missile interception on Thursday, after Yemen's Houthis said they had targeted the capital's airport.

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Saudi Arabia leads a pro-government coalition fighting against the Houthis in Yemen's civil war, and the Iran-backed group has repeatedly targeted Riyadh since the conflict roared back to life, vowing to hit critical infrastructure and disrupt Saudi airspace.

The conflict in Yemen had lain dormant since 2022 but erupted again in July, and the scale and frequency of the attacks on the Saudi capital since then have been unprecedented in the eight months of wider war in the Middle East.

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Riyadh's airport has been repeatedly targeted by the Houthis in recent days as the group ramps up its attacks on the Kingdom.

On Thursday the group warned workers to evacuate Saudi Arabia's oil facilities, having days before hit a major refinery south of the capital.

Around the same time, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had intercepted two missiles fired towards Riyadh.

Shortly after, the Kingdom's civil defence agency said "interception debris" had damaged a kindergarten and a medical complex in the city. It did not say if there were any casualties or provide details of the damage.

Shelter in place

After resuming their fight against Yemen's internationally recognised government, the Houthis last month seized all of the country's Red Sea coast in a lightning offensive.

The group had already controlled the capital Sanaa and most of Yemen's major population centres since the start of the war in 2014. Riyadh's military coalition intervened to support the government the following year.

A campaign by the Saudi interior ministry has repeatedly warned residents against sharing unauthorised information, images or footage of missiles, drones and their impacts, warning that violators could face legal consequences.

Numerous flights at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport were delayed or cancelled, according to information posted on signage at the facility.

The airport was yet to acknowledge any disruption, pointing only in a short statement to the "necessity" of contacting airlines before travelling.

200,000 people displaced

In Yemen, one of the world's poorest countries, ordinary civilians are paying the price for the renewed fighting, with more than 200,000 people displaced since July, according to UN data.

The humanitarian crisis caused by the war has left most of the nation's population dependent on aid.

After declaring their counter-offensive against the Houthis, Yemen's government claimed to have pushed the fighters out of strategic areas on the Red Sea coast and the port city of Mocha.

But the Houthis insist they are holding their territory, and military sources from both sides contacted by AFP have not reported any major changes on the ground.

In Saudi Arabia, the latest blasts came a day after the Houthis claimed attacks on two international airports, while repeating a warning to airlines to avoid Saudi airspace.

The Kingdom's civil aviation authority said an Egyptian and an Algerian national were killed at Abha airport, while a Sudanese national was killed at Riyadh airport.

In a subsequent statement, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen vowed that the Houthis would "not go unpunished" for the attacks.

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