RIYADH, Saturday, October 31, 2026 — Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed two missiles and three drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi militia toward several regions of the Kingdom on Friday and Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition said, in a barrage that reached the skies over Islam’s two holiest cities and the capital.
Coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki said air defence forces shot down a cruise missile aimed at the western region and a ballistic missile targeting the southern region, state media reported. Three drones launched toward Riyadh, Makkah and Madinah were also intercepted and destroyed, he said.
Holy cities in the line of fire
The interceptions over Makkah and Madinah drew particular attention because of the religious significance of the two cities. Makkah is home to the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba, while Madinah houses the Prophet’s Mosque, and both attract millions of Muslim pilgrims every year.
In separate Friday statements, the coalition said it had destroyed a drone over the Makkah region, a drone over the Madinah region and a drone over Riyadh province, plus a ballistic missile aimed at the southern region.
The latest interceptions followed similar incidents on Thursday, when Saudi air defences destroyed two ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh and another targeting the Eastern Province, according to Al-Maliki.
Aden airport and palace hit
Across the border in southern Yemen, Houthi forces fired ballistic missiles at Aden airport and the Maashiq presidential palace complex on Friday, Yemeni officials said. A police official told AFP that two missiles targeted the palace complex, while a Yemeni government military spokesperson confirmed that both the airport and the palace had come under attack.
Officials did not immediately confirm whether the missiles struck their intended targets or give details of casualties or damage. The strikes followed another Houthi attack on Aden airport on Wednesday, after the group issued an evacuation warning.
Houthis deny targeting Saudi territory
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree rejected the coalition’s account on Friday, describing its claims of a drone attack toward Saudi territory as false. In a post on X, he said the group had not carried out any operation directed at Saudi territory and maintained that its attacks were aimed at Saudi oil facilities and military bases.
The group has repeatedly denied targeting Makkah and Madinah, despite previous Saudi accusations, including a drone intercepted south of Makkah in September and an October attack on a Madinah power station supplying the Prophet’s Mosque.
Weeks of escalation
The barrage is the latest in weeks of Houthi attacks on Saudi cities, airports and energy infrastructure. A missile strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport on October 10 killed 13 travellers and injured more than 300, according to official figures cited by Arab News, while an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam last week killed two people, a Saudi national and an Indian citizen, and injured eight.
Earlier in October, the group claimed a missile and drone attack on an Aramco facility in Riyadh, followed by a strike that sparked a major fire at Saudi Aramco’s Dhahran headquarters. The coalition says its air defences have intercepted the bulk of incoming projectiles, but the attacks have kept the Kingdom’s skies and airports on high alert.
