Houthis claim attacks on Saudi capital, after flames seen near Riyadh airport

Yemen’s Houthis said they attacked “sensitive” sites in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday with missiles and drones, hours after flames and a large plume of smoke were seen near the city’s main airport.Saudi Arabia had sent alerts overnight warning of potential danger around Riyadh, amid an escalation in attacks by the Houthis in the kingdom.Reuters video and photographs ‌showed a huge pillar of black smoke rising in the area, with the airport highway, main terminal building and other facilities in the foreground. At one point in the video, flames were visible rising from behind what appeared to be fuel tanks.The Houthis did not specify what they had targeted in Riyadh, but said they had also attacked an Aramco facility in the Red Sea city of Yanbu, a key Saudi oil export hub.The Houthis said the operation came as a response to an attack in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree delivers a televised statement on a screen in Sanaa, Yemen, on Saturday. Photo: EPAThere was no immediate comment from the Saudi government’s media office in response to Reuters questions ⁠about the smoke and the overnight alerts, nor was there any immediate Saudi confirmation of the Houthis’ claims of attacks.Saudi civil defence sent the alerts by phone overnight for potential ‌danger of aerial attacks in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, before issuing an all-clear on Saturday morning. A Reuters journalist in Riyadh’s Olaya area heard booms before the all-clear was sent.