Follow-Up: Houthis Launch Four Attacks on Saudi Arabia in 48 Hours; Ballistic Missile Fired at Riyadh Intercepted as U.S. Orders Non-Emergency Staff to Leave
SANAA/RIYADH — Yemen's Houthi movement said on October 22 that it had launched four missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia in the past 48 hours, targeting the Defense Ministry in the capital Riyadh, two Saudi international airports and an oil facility; the Saudi-led coalition said in the early hours of October 23 that it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired at Riyadh. The U.S. State Department had on October 21 ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees in Saudi Arabia and their families to depart.
According to Xinhua's dispatch from Kuwait City on October 22 (datelined Sanaa), Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a televised statement on Al-Masirah TV that the attacks used ballistic missiles and drones "in response to Saudi Arabia's escalating military operations in Yemen," claiming all four strikes "directly hit" their targets — the Defense Ministry in Riyadh, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Aramco facilities in Yanbu and Abha International Airport. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said on the morning of October 22 that King Fahd International Airport had been attacked on the evening of October 21, with the death toll rising to two and eight others injured. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said the coalition had intercepted and destroyed four drones over Riyadh and Medina provinces that day.
CCTV's international news service reported that the Saudi-led coalition said in the early hours of October 23 local time that it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by Yemen's Houthis at the Saudi capital Riyadh; earlier, air-raid sirens had sounded across Riyadh amid reports of multiple explosions.
Separately, Xinhua reported from Washington on October 21 that State Department spokesperson Pigott said on social media that day that the State Department had ordered non-emergency U.S. government employees in Saudi Arabia and their family members to depart, citing the need to "ensure the safety of State Department personnel and their families." Pigott said hostile Houthi actions against Saudi Arabia were growing more frequent, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure, causing civilian casualties and severely disrupting travel. (GSM, from Xinhua and CCTV international news)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 利雅得天际线（资料图）。照片：Muhaidib，Public domain，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Riyadh skyline (file photo). Photo: Muhaidib, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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