KHAMIS MUSHAIT, October 18, 2026 — Saudi Arabia’s air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Houthis toward the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait in the early hours of Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition said, capping a 24-hour barrage in which four rebel drones were shot down over other parts of the kingdom on Saturday.
Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said the two missiles were destroyed before reaching their targets, according to state media reports. Minutes later, he said a Houthi drone was also intercepted and destroyed over the Riyadh region in the early hours of Sunday.
The rebels have kept up a near-daily tempo of drone and missile launches since the confrontation erupted, with Saudi air defences reporting interceptions over Riyadh, Dhahran and the southern provinces through the past week. The coalition says falling debris from intercepted projectiles has repeatedly injured residents and damaged homes, schools and clinics, even when the attacks themselves are thwarted.
Civil defence alerts issued, then lifted
Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Civil Defense sent mobile alerts at around 1:30 a.m. local time Sunday warning residents in Riyadh and Khamis Mushait of a “hostile aerial threat” and urging them to take precautions, state media reported. The alert was lifted minutes later, and subsequent notices said the danger had passed in Khamis Mushait and the nearby city of Abha, urging residents to keep following official instructions and to avoid gathering or filming in the affected areas.
Air-raid alerts in the capital have become a regular feature of the nearly three-week confrontation between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, with residents sharing videos of interceptions lighting up the night sky.
Coalition destroys launchers in Saada
In response, coalition warplanes struck and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missile launch platforms in the northwestern part of Yemen’s Saada governorate, shortly after they were used to fire the missiles toward southwestern Saudi Arabia, the coalition said. It released video footage said to document the airstrikes hitting the launcher sites.
Al-Maliki said the coalition would continue to take “all necessary measures” to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, state media reported. No casualties were immediately reported on the Saudi side.
Third week of escalation
The exchange marks the latest turn in an escalation that began in late September with Houthi drone and missile strikes on Saudi airports and energy facilities. The confrontation has since drawn regional responses, including an offer of military support to Riyadh from Egypt’s president on Saturday.
Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has remained closed for more than a week, with airlines including Emirates, Etihad and Air Arabia suspending services to the kingdom, while the Houthis have warned airlines against operating to Saudi airports.
The coalition has answered with a sustained bombing campaign against Houthi military targets inside Yemen, saying it has destroyed hundreds of military targets in retaliation for the attacks on Saudi civilian facilities.
The standoff has drawn widening regional attention: Egypt’s president pledged on Saturday that Cairo would not allow Saudi Arabia’s security to be harmed and offered military support, while the United Nations Security Council has condemned the Houthi attacks and affirmed the kingdom’s right to self-defence. Gulf governments have called for joint action to shield the region’s airports, ports and energy infrastructure.
