Explosions over Riyadh as CENTCOM commander visits region
No group has yet claimed credit for the blasts, which came three days after the Saudi military said it shot down an enemy projectile over Riyadh.
Two explosions were heard over Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh on Tuesday afternoon, Reuters reported. Video circulated on social media showing puffs of smoke suspended in the sky over the city around 1 p.m. local time.
The cause of the blasts was not immediately known. BBC Arabic cited witnesses as saying Saudi air defenses were activated.
Flights out of Riyadh’s King Khaled Airport were delayed following the incident, which came just three days after the Saudi military said it had intercepted a hostile projectile launched toward the capital in an attack for which Yemen’s Houthi rebels denied responsibility.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and armed drones into Saudi Arabia, whose government leads a military coalition against the rebels in neighboring Yemen’s civil war. A few of the projectiles have been shot down after reaching as far as Riyadh.
