3 killed in attacks on Saudi Arabia's King Khalid, Abha airports: civil aviation body

3 killed in attacks on Saudi Arabia's King Khalid, Abha airports: civil aviation body.

Key points

• The fighting has displaced more than 200, 000 individuals within the country, the United Nations stated on Wednesday.
• Houthi drones and missiles additionally targeted Saudi Arabia's Abha airport and King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, spokesman Saree stated, claiming they had "hit their targets accurately".
• Those injured in the attack on King Khalid International Airport included five Saudi citizens, two Egyptians and a Pakistani, the statement remarked.
• Saudi Arabia leads an international coalition that has been fighting the Houthis since 2015, and is now trying to roll back the group's latest advance.
• On Wednesday, new clashes in Yemen's west left at least 62 combatants dead, including 37 Houthis, military sources from both camps informed AFP.

3 killed in attacks on Saudi Arabia's King Khalid, Abha airports: civil aviation body. AFP Published October 8, 2026 Updated October 8, 2026 01: 30am. Join our Whatsapp Channel.

After Yemen's Houthis asserted to have fired on both transport hubs, saudi authorities remarked on Wednesday that three residents were killed in attacks on two of the kingdom's international airports including in the capital Riyadh.

For context, the Houthis earlier took responsibility for a flurry of attacks that included firing a ballistic missile at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport as the conflict deepens with Saudi Arabia. It backs Yemen's administration.

"On Tuesday and Wednesday. Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport were subjected to attacks targeting their facilities, " the kingdom's civil aviation authority remarked in an official note, without blaming anyone for the attacks.

Notably, an Egyptian and an Algerian national were killed at Abha airport and a Sudanese national was killed at the airport in Riyadh, the agency remarked, with 36 residents wounded in the attacks.

Notably, the Saudi-led coalition that backs pro-government forces in Yemen remarked on X that it "destroyed the ballistic missile launch platform" employed in the attack on Riyadh.

In practice, the Houthis, who control most of the country's northwest, are battling for territory against the Saudi-backed forces after the civil war reignited in July and they captured swathes of coastal land.

In practice, the fighting has displaced more than 200, 000 individuals within the country, the United Nations stated on Wednesday.

Yemen's internationally recognised administration this week declared a major counter-offensive and stated Houthi fighters were pushed out of strategic areas on the Red Sea and the port city of Mocha.

But the Houthis say they are holding their territory, and military sources from both sides contacted by AFP have not documented any major changes on the ground.

Claims by the warring parties have been impossible to independently verify with the situation moving fast and access for journalists tough.

"Our armed forces have just targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile. The strike was accurate, by God's grace, and led to a disruption of air traffic, " Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree remarked Wednesday in a post on X.

For context, the Saudi-led military coalition that backs Yemen's administration had stated the missile was intercepted.

In a separate post the Houthis additionally stated they targeted a military supply convoy near the airport in the Yemeni city of Aden, the interim capital for the administration.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni government's Saba news agency documented missiles and drones targeting that airport.

Meanwhile, the agency cited transport authorities as saying one of the missiles landed near the runway minutes before the scheduled arrival of a flight from Cairo. It was forced to divert to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

It is the second time this week that the Houthis asserted to have attacked the main airport in the Saudi capital.

It is facing frequent temporary closures of its airspace, according to tracking website Flightradar24.

On Monday, the coalition remarked it was providing air backing for the counter-offensive introduced by the Yemeni administration forces.

After a four-year ceasefire, Yemen's civil war re-erupted in July. Last month the Houthis seized the entire western coastline along the Red Sea in the country's deadliest fighting in years.

Notably, the government's Saba news agency additionally stated the Houthis fired a missile at the city of Taiz. It is held by administration forces, wounding five civilians.

"We went out into the street to check on the wounded and saw young civilians who had been hit. The Houthi shell landed in the middle of the street, right in an area crowded with civilians, " Taiz resident Al-Fateh al-Eisaei informed AFP.

Yemen's administration has confirmed a goal of retaking all Houthi territory, home to most of the country's population, and much of it held for more than a decade.

Notably, the humanitarian crisis caused by the war has left most of the nation's population dependent on aid.

Mohammed, a 33-year-old charity worker who fled from Mocha to Aden, informed AFP on Tuesday that "people there are terrified" of the Houthis. "Life in Mocha has come to a complete standstill, " he remarked.

Taken together, the developments around 3 killed in attacks on Saudi Arabia' s King Khalid, Abha airports: civil point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.