Saudi-led coalition says it destroyed two Houthi drones over Riyadh and the south; Houthis claim hits on the airport and the pipeline

The Saudi-led coalition announced on Saturday, November 14 that air defences destroyed two Houthi drones, one in the Riyadh area and one in the southern regions of the kingdom. The announcement came after the Houthis claimed on Friday evening that they hit Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and a pumping station of the East-West pipeline with drones. In Yemen, the Houthi health ministry accuses a Saudi strike of killing 12 people in a market in Taiz province.

The statement on the two drones was made by coalition spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki and carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) at 16:34 local time. Al-Maliki also posted it on X, without saying whether there were casualties or damage. The announcement does not link the two drones to the specific targets named by the Houthis. It is not the first such announcement in recent days. On Thursday evening the coalition had reported the destruction of two drones over Riyadh and the Eastern Province, when the Houthis said they hit the East-West pipeline, Yanbu and Aramco in Riyadh (our report).

Houthi claims

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announced on Friday evening, November 13, “two special military operations.” The first, he said, targeted Riyadh airport with one drone, and the second targeted pumping station No. 3 of the East-West pipeline, east of the capital, with two drones. The pipeline carries crude oil to the Red Sea port of Yanbu. Saree claimed both operations achieved their goal, without giving details of damage. He also claimed that two ballistic missiles hit gatherings of Saudi forces in the al-Tuwal area of Jazan province, with dozens killed and wounded, among them Sudanese. The Houthi announcements came a few hours after Saudi Civil Defence had sounded the all-clear in Jazan. Saudi Arabia did not directly confirm the Houthi claims about the airport and the pipeline.

Inside Yemen, the Houthis say they hit weapons depots at Ras Abbas camp in Aden with ballistic missiles and drones, as well as forces under the command of Saudi officers in Lahij and al-Jawf provinces. The military spokesman of the internationally recognised government, Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili, for his part accused the Houthis of targeting Aden with ballistic missiles on Friday, threatening civilians and civilian facilities. The Houthis presented the attacks as a response to a Saudi strike in Taiz.

The Taiz market

The Houthi-controlled health ministry in Sanaa says at least 12 people were killed and 14 wounded in an attack on a local market in Taiz province, which it attributes to Saudi Arabia. The figures have not been confirmed by an independent source and the coalition has not responded. It is not the first such accusation this month. On November 6, Houthis and the government blamed each other for at least 20 dead in a Taiz market. For that attack, Houthi forensic experts said on Friday that fragments from the al-Khadra market indicate the use of US GBU-12 laser-guided bombs, while the government attributes it to a Houthi ballistic missile. Earlier this week, Saudi air defence destroyed three Houthi cruise missiles (our report).