Houthi drone aimed at Riyadh; Saudi alarms sound and clear

The Houthis aimed a drone at Riyadh on Sunday morning local time, according to Iran's Mehw News, putting Saudi Arabia's capital in the crosshairs once again. Saudi Civil Defense fired off an alarm for Riyadh and for Najran at the same time. It lifted shortly after, and no injuries or damage have been reported.

The night had already been loud. Alarms briefly sounded overnight in the Buqayq and Al Ahsa governorates and in Dammam city, as drone and missile strikes kept flying between Saudi forces and the Yemeni Houthis.

Saudi air defenses weren't idle. Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the alliance intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile headed for the kingdom's Eastern Region, according to the coalition. Al-Maliki offered no further details on the interception.

The warning system stayed busy. Saudi Civil Defense had briefly flagged potential danger in Buqayq, Al Ahsa and Dammam before clearing it minutes later, telling people on X to keep following its instructions and to avoid gathering and filming.

The toll inside Yemen keeps climbing. The Houthi-affiliated Yemeni Health Ministry said the death count from a Saudi airstrike in the al-Shariyah area of Bani Hashish district rose to 33, with 39 wounded. Among the dead, the ministry said, were 13 children and 8 women, calling the strike an atrocity.

There was action at sea too. The United Arab Emirates' National Guard said it rescued 22 crew members from a cargo ship after a fire broke out in the Gulf of Oman, bringing everyone off in stable condition after first aid.