"Air defences intercepted and destroyed 3 ballistic missiles." With that one-line statement in the early hours of Tuesday, 27 October, Staff Major General Turki Al-Maliki, official spokesman of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, reported that missiles launched by the Houthi group towards Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province had been brought down. It capped four days of official interception notices, a period that also drew condemnation from leading Islamic bodies, Al-Azhar among them. Below is the sequence as set out in official statements.
On the evening of Saturday, 24 October, the spokesman of the General Directorate of Civil Defense said teams had dealt with fragments from the interception of two ballistic missiles fired by the Houthi group towards the Makkah and Madinah regions. Approved procedures were followed, he said, and the statement reported no injuries. Earlier that day, two other missiles heading for Taif and Yanbu had been intercepted.
By Sunday afternoon, 25 October, the Muslim World League had described the targeting of the two regions as a violation of the sanctity of the faith, and the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation had called on Muslim countries to take a united stand, Asharq Al-Awsat reported.
On Monday, 26 October, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, renewed his condemnation of the continuing attacks on Makkah, Madinah and civilian facilities in the Kingdom. He noted that the latest had been intercepted by the Kingdom's defences near the holy sites, rejected anything that would endanger the Kingdom's security or the safety of its citizens and visitors, and called for an urgent mediation and de-escalation committee of the region's wise figures. The same day, the coalition reported intercepting three drones over the Riyadh region and the southern region.
Early on Tuesday, 27 October, Civil Defense sent alerts through the National Early Warning Platform to residents of Al-Kharj Governorate and the Eastern Province. The coalition's statement on the three missiles followed, and a second statement reported that four drones launched towards the southern region had also been intercepted and destroyed.
Civil Defense then announced that the danger had passed, asked residents to keep following its instructions, to avoid gathering or filming, and to call 911 only in emergencies. None of the official statements issued so far mentioned any injuries.
