Riyadh hit with first-ever air raid sirens as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia escalate

Air raid sirens sounded over Riyadh for the first time as Iran-backed Yemeni rebel group the Houthis stepped up their attacks against Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense directorate issued air raid warnings across Riyadh and nearby areas including Al-Kharj from late Friday night through Saturday morning (local time), according to the BBC and Reuters. Alert messages sent to residents warned that the areas faced "hostile aerial threats."

The warnings were the first issued over Riyadh since the Houthis intensified their campaign and declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia in July. They came just hours after Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sare'e vowed retaliation, saying the group had foiled what he described as a "criminal attempt" by Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Multiple reports of explosions were received from Riyadh, but authorities said the alerts were subsequently lifted and the threat had passed. No official statement has been issued on the cause of the blasts, the extent of any damage, or who carried out the attack.

The Houthis have been expanding their offensive, seizing the key western Yemeni port of Mokha and then taking control of Perim Island at the entrance to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.

As the Houthis broaden their attacks against the Saudi mainland, Mecca — Islam's holiest site — received its first-ever attack threat warning on Sept. 15. Warnings were also issued that day for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia's second-largest city and home to a large community of South Korean residents and expatriates, as well as for Taif.

With attack threat warnings now reaching the capital Riyadh in quick succession, tensions have risen to a peak.

Earlier, the Houthis fired dozens of missiles and drones at the Khamis Mushait air base in southern Saudi Arabia, wounding 13 people. The group claimed to have struck fighter jet hangars, radar systems, a runway and an ammunition depot with precision. Attacks on Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Yanbu followed.

Saudi Arabia has struck back, launching airstrikes on Houthi positions and communications facilities in Yemen's Taiz and Hajjah provinces. The armed conflict between the two sides is intensifying, with indications that Saudi Arabia has used Chinese-made ballistic missiles against the Houthis in combat for the first time.

The Houthis also claimed Wednesday to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Yemen's Marib province using a surface-to-air missile, releasing footage they said showed the incident.

As the fighting escalates, fears are growing that Yemen's civil war — which had been in a relative lull since a UN-brokered truce in 2022 — could descend into all-out war.