Strikes on Riyadh and Yanbu

Air raid sirens sounded across Riyadh in the early hours of 19 September 2026 as Houthi forces launched an aerial bombardment toward the Saudi capital. Explosions near King Khalid International Airport shook residential buildings and ignited a fire at a fuel storage tank displaying the Aramco logo. Firefighters worked through the morning to extinguish the blaze as black smoke rose above the perimeter of the facility. The Saudi civil protection agency initially warned residents of a hostile aerial threat before lifting the alert and advising the public to avoid crowds and filming. Flight tracking service Flightradar24 recorded flight delays and cancellations before international air traffic returned to normal schedules on Saturday afternoon. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree confirmed the operation, stating that ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones targeted locations in Riyadh as well as Aramco facilities in the port city of Yanbu.

“In response to the criminal attempts of the Saudi enemy to target the capital Sana'a, the Yemeni armed forces carried out two successful military operations, employing a large number of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones.”

Escalation across the regional front

The overnight bombardment expanded upon earlier Houthi attacks that had focused primarily on oil installations and military bases in southern Saudi Arabia, along the Red Sea coast, and toward Mecca. Iranian state news agency ISNA reported multiple detonations in the vicinity of King Khalid International Airport, while footage of the resulting smoke plume was circulated online by Nasruddin Amer, the deputy director of the Houthi media office. Alongside the long-range missile and drone attacks, heavy ground combat continued inside Yemen between Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi units. Military sources reported 48 deaths across southern Yemen during a 24-hour period. Government forces confirmed 17 soldiers killed in action, while Houthi representatives reported the loss of 31 fighters during the same engagements.

Houthi fighters31

Government soldiers17

Houthi fighters

31 fatalities

Government soldiers

17 fatalities

Data from the article text

Italian Eurofighter hit at Taif

The strikes on Riyadh followed an attack on Friday, 18 September 2026, which struck an Italian Air Force Eurofighter parked inside the King Khalid airbase in Taif. Muhammad Mansur, an official in the Houthi information ministry in Sanaa, addressed the targeting of Italian military assets during an interview with ANSA. Mansur maintained that the Yemeni movement is not in a state of war with Rome, but questioned the rationale behind stationing Italian combat aircraft on Saudi soil.

“Our armed resistance is legitimate in the face of prolonged Saudi aggression. We are not at war with Italy and we do not intend to involve your country. But we wonder what Italian aircraft are doing in Saudi Arabia in support of Riyadh's war against us.”

Political reaction in Rome

The damage to the Eurofighter in Taif led to political controversy in Italy regarding military deployments in the Middle East. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto issued a public rebuttal to an article in Il Fatto Quotidiano, edited by Marco Travaglio, which claimed the country had entered a conflict without informing parliament or President Sergio Mattarella. Crosetto rejected the report as false and offensive, stating that the Saudi mission had been authorized through standard procedures and presented to parliamentary committees by military commanders and cabinet officials. He confirmed that he monitored the base attack continuously to verify the safety of Italian personnel. Crosetto also noted that Italian naval vessels operate in the Red Sea under the European Union Aspides mission, adding that he had sent an urgent letter on the operation to EU High Representative Kaja Kallas.