RIYADH, Wednesday, October 28, 2026 — Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by Yemen’s Houthis towards the western city of Taif early on Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition said, in the latest cross-border attack on the kingdom as hostilities with the Iran-aligned group intensify.
The Taif interception
Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said in a statement posted on X on Wednesday that the missile aimed at Taif had been intercepted and destroyed. He gave no further details, and the coalition reported no casualties or damage from the interception, state media reported.
Taif, a mountain city in western Saudi Arabia, lies inland from the Red Sea coast and is home to a major military airbase. The coalition did not say where the missile was launched from or where its debris fell.
Alerts in Jeddah and Yanbu lifted
Saudi Civil Defence issued early-warning alerts for a potential hostile threat in the Jeddah and Yanbu governorates in the early hours of Wednesday, before saying minutes later that the danger had passed in both areas, officials said.
Civil Defence later issued an all-clear for both areas without specifying the threat that had prompted the warnings. No injuries or damage were reported in either governorate, according to the authorities.
A night of wider attacks
The Taif interception followed a night of attacks across the kingdom. Debris from two intercepted ballistic missiles damaged a building, a construction project and a vehicle in Riyadh on Tuesday evening, Saudi Civil Defence said, adding that its crews responded promptly and no injuries were reported.
The coalition also said on Tuesday that air defences had intercepted three ballistic missiles aimed at the kingdom’s Eastern Province and shot down four drones targeting southern Saudi Arabia, Maj. Gen. al-Maliki said. Civil Defence issued warnings for the Eastern Province and Al-Kharj in the early hours before later giving the all-clear.
The attacks came days after the Houthis claimed a missile strike on Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil refinery at Ras Tanura, a claim Saudi authorities have not confirmed. The Houthis have attacked Saudi Arabia since announcing a blockade on Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea, and Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition against the group since March 2015, following its seizure of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
Heavy fighting reported in Yemen
Separately, Yemen’s Armed Forces said about 440 Houthi fighters had been killed or wounded in operations across several fronts over the previous 24 hours, as part of the ongoing “Dawn of Yemen” offensive, military officials said.
Armed Forces spokesman Col. Majed al-Nuzaili said 1,382 targeting operations had destroyed or disabled 146 vehicles and heavy weapons. He said units on the Taiz front, alongside the Popular Resistance, had carried out coordinated airstrikes and ground attacks with combat aircraft support, thwarting Houthi attempts to retake lost positions and strengthening control over strategic hilltops.
On the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Dhubab and Al-Mudharabah fronts, Yemeni forces said they had repelled infiltration attempts and struck Houthi reinforcements and vehicles. Units on the northern, northwestern and eastern fronts east of Sanaa continued operations with armoured vehicles, artillery and unmanned aircraft, targeting Houthi movements, command centres, weapons positions, storage facilities and fortifications, the spokesman said. The casualty figures are the Yemeni military’s own account and have not been independently verified.
What happens next
The coalition has said it will continue operations to intercept threats and protect civilians and infrastructure, while the Houthis have vowed to keep up their campaign against Saudi targets. The latest exchanges came after senior regional officials gathered in Iran on Monday for talks aimed at reducing tensions, with no breakthrough announced.
For residents of Taif, Jeddah and Yanbu, Wednesday’s alerts were the latest reminder of a conflict that has repeatedly reached deep inside the kingdom in recent weeks, even as diplomatic efforts to contain it continue.
[…] attacks on Saudi targets in recent days. On Saturday, Saudi Civil Defence said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles launched toward the Mecca and Medina regions, with debris reported falling in several locations, […]