Houthis claim ballistic missile strike on Riyadh's King Khalid Airport

The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted two ballistic missiles aimed at the capital the same Thursday morning.

Yemen's Houthi movement said Thursday it struck King Khalid Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile. Saudi officials have not confirmed any strike or damage at the airport.

The claim came after an explosion was reported inside the Saudi capital on Thursday, a break from weeks of strikes confined to Jazan and Najran provinces. A similar explosion was reported in northern Riyadh on Tuesday, also outside that pattern. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh on Thursday morning.

Houthi forces had also claimed a missile strike on Abha Airport on Tuesday, a claim Saudi officials did not confirm. That claim followed a report, also unconfirmed by Saudi officials, of an attack on Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline on Monday. The oil-tracking fund USO pared a pre-market loss that day, trading down 0.83% at $146.15. Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi-led coalition air and naval power, retook the port city of Mocha from Houthi forces on Monday.

Saudi oil exports and the restored east-west pipeline have held up through months of strikes confined to the provinces. A confirmed hit on infrastructure in the capital itself, rather than another unconfirmed claim, would be the first real test of that resilience.