Houthis attack Saudi airports, killing three and wounding dozens
Houthi-claimed attacks damaged two Saudi airports, including King Khalid International in Riyadh and Abha airport, and killed three people while wounding 36, according to Saudi officials. The report says the strikes also caused material damage and deepen the Saudi-Houthi conflict.
By Summer Said DUBAI -- Attacks claimed by Houthi militants damaged two airports in Saudi Arabia, including one in its capital, killing three people and wounding 36 others, escalating a conflict between the kingdom and its Iran-backed foe in Yemen. The assault on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed a Sudanese national and wounded eight other people. A separate attack on the airport in the southern city of Abha, about 400 miles from the Yemeni border, killed Moroccan and Algerian residents and wounded 28 other people, said the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation.
Two Saudi officials familiar with the matter said the Yemeni group has been using missiles to target the kingdom's airports this week including the airports in Riyadh and Abha. The two attacks, which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, also caused material damage. The Houthis had previously warned "all international airlines using Saudi airspace" to halt their flights, except those over the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina. S.
war with Iran. The Houthis took a wide swath of territory in a recent lightning offensive against Saudi-backed Yemeni forces, giving the rebel group more control over the crucial waterway, the Bab al-Mandeb. Saudi and Yemeni forces have since pressed a counteroffensive against Houthi fighters, seeking to oust the rebels from the strategic port city of Mokha and ease the threat to energy exports through the narrow Bab al-Mandeb. The Houthis have claimed a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia, many of which have gone unacknowledged or been denied by Riyadh.
Saudi officials put out new warnings to the public on Tuesday that filming and sharing images of drone and missile attacks, or interceptions could bring legal charges. Earlier attacks by Houthi rebels damaged two airports in southern Saudi Arabia near the border with the war-torn nation, Saudi authorities said. Since taking Mokha last month, the Houthis have attacked Saudi energy facilities and threatened Saudi ship traffic through the 18-mile wide entrance to the Red Sea, raising concerns in Riyadh, Washington and European capitals about further disruptions to regional oil supplies. The war in Yemen began in 2014, when the Houthis swept into the capital, San'a.
A Saudi-led coalition entered the war on behalf of Yemen's internationally recognized government in 2015. The conflict has killed more than 150,000 people, displaced millions and pushed the Arab world's poorest nation to the brink of famine. Until last month when violence broke out, the war had been in an uneasy ceasefire for years, with Saudi Arabia funding salaries for government employees in Houthi-held areas. com (END) Dow Jones Newswires October 07, 2026 17:48 ET (21:48 GMT) Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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