Smoke Near Riyadh Airport After Saudi Aerial Attack Alert; Houthis Vow Response
A large plume of smoke rose near Riyadh's main airport after overnight alerts warned of possible aerial attacks, as Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia escalate.
A thick column of black smoke was seen rising near Riyadh's main airport on Saturday, shortly after Saudi authorities sent overnight alerts warning of possible aerial attacks around the capital and the nearby city of Al-Kharj.
Video and photographs showed the smoke towering over the area, with the airport highway, the main terminal building and other facilities visible in the foreground. At one stage, flames could be seen rising from behind what appeared to be fuel tanks. Booms were heard in the capital before an all-clear was issued on Saturday morning.
The Saudi government's media office did not immediately respond to questions about the smoke or the alerts. Civil defence authorities had sent the warnings by phone overnight, and residents in Riyadh's Olaya district reported hearing the blasts before the all-clear.
While alerts had been issued in Riyadh earlier this year following the outbreak of the US-Iran war, these were the first since tensions with the Houthis escalated in July.
The Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous regions and much of the north, have been attacking Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade on Riyadh in July, targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea. Their strikes have hit Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping, threatening global oil supplies and imperilling the main alternative Red Sea export route for Gulf states while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded.
On Friday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had thwarted unspecified "criminal attempts" in Sanaa, blamed Saudi Arabia and promised a response. The Iran-aligned group, which seized Yemen's entire Red Sea coast this month, says the Saudi Air Force has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against it in recent days.
The UN Security Council on Friday condemned "in the strongest terms" the continued Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure that have injured civilians, among them women and children. The council also condemned the Houthi military escalation in Yemen.