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RIYADH: A large plume of smoke was visible near Riyadh\u2019s main airport on Saturday after booms were heard and Saudi Arabia sent alerts overnight warning of potential danger around the capital, amid an escalation in attacks by Yemen\u2019s Houthi \u200bgroup.<\/strong><\/p>\n Reuters video and photographs showed a huge pillar of black smoke rising in the area, with \u200bthe airport highway, main terminal building and other facilities in the foreground. At one \u2060point in the video, flames were visible rising from behind what appeared to be fuel tanks.<\/span><\/p>\n There was no \u200bimmediate comment from the Saudi government\u2019s media office in response to Reuters questions about the smoke and the \u200bovernight alerts.<\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019s Olaya area heard \u200bbooms before the all-clear was sent.<\/span><\/p>\n Although some alerts had been issued in Riyadh this year after the \u200bstart of the US-Iran war, these were the first since the escalation began with the Houthis in July.<\/span><\/p>\n The Houthis, who control \u200cthe \u2060most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been launching attacks against Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, with strikes targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.<\/span><\/p>\n The attacks have targeted Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping, creating new threats to global oil supplies and putting at risk the main alternative Red \u200bSea route for Gulf \u200bexports while traffic through \u2060the Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded.<\/span><\/p>\n On Friday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had foiled unspecified \u201ccriminal attempts\u201d in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, blaming Saudi Arabia and \u200bvowing a response.<\/span><\/p>\n The Iran-aligned group, which seized Yemen\u2019s entire Red Sea coast in \u200ba lightning advance \u2060this month, says the Saudi Air Force has conducted hundreds of airstrikes against it in recent days.<\/span><\/p>\n The UN Security Council in a statement on Friday \u201ccondemned in the strongest terms continued Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, \u2060including attacks \u200bimpacting civilian and energy infrastructure, which have resulted in the injury \u200bof civilians, including women and children.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nHOUTHI WARNING<\/span><\/h2>\n