Smoke observed near Riyadh's King Khalid Airport after air-raid alerts

A column of black smoke was seen near King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh after Saudi civil-defence alerts warned residents to stay indoors. The alerts, the first of their kind in recent weeks, came as the conflict with Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen has intensified.

Flight-tracking data showed delays and cancellations at the airport, and an AFP journalist reported firefighters battling flames on a fuel tank belonging to the state oil company Aramco. Saudi authorities have not issued an official comment.

Residents described hearing multiple explosions and feeling building vibrations. > "I heard the alarm, then my windows shook," said a 27-year-old northern Riyadh resident, describing the incident as frightening.

The incident coincides with recent Houthi statements that they had repelled Saudi strikes on Yemen's capital and warned that any attacks on Sanaa would "not go unanswered." The Houthis have previously targeted sites inside Saudi Arabia and claimed responsibility for downing a Saudi fighter jet over Yemen.

Separate reports indicated that fighting between Houthi forces and Saudi-backed Yemeni government troops resulted in dozens of casualties on both sides, while the United Nations' International Organization for Migration said more than 104,000 people have been displaced by the latest fighting. The Houthis have also seized the port city of Mokha and Perim Island, which they say is retaliation for a Saudi blockade of Houthi-controlled ports.