Saudi capital airport hit by second strike in two days

For context, an international airport in the Saudi capital has been hit by a second strike in as plenty of days, office-holders have noted.

Key points

• The latest uptick in violence comes after a temporary ceasefire between the Houthis and Saudi-led forces, brokered in 2022, collapsed in July.
• Their military spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree vowed to continue the "escalating operations deep inside Saudi Arabia".
• Houthi-run Al Masirah TV remarked "the Saudi enemy" had rolled out an air strike on Sanaa International Airport in Yemen's capital.
• After similar strikes earlier this week, it comes a day after a strike on the same airport killed 13 individuals and injured 308 others.
• Saturday's strike was the deadliest single attack on a Gulf Arab country since the war between Israel, the US and Iran began in February.

In practice, a Saudi military spokesman remarked a projectile had hit King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, causing a fire in one of its passenger halls. Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority remarked there had been injuries.

Yemen's Houthi rebels, who asserted responsibility for the strikes, cautioned airlines and passengers against using Saudi Arabian airports and airspace.

As well as an air strike on the airport in Sanaa, the Houthis have remarked they were targeting Saudi Arabia over its backing for administration forces in Yemen's civil war.

While authorities were dealing with the fire, maj Gen Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition, remarked air defences had intercepted a missile near the airport in Riyadh.

While US President Donald Trump stated the US would "make a decision" and "move very quickly" on whether to strike the Houthis, UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting suggested the UK could "potentially" provide more backing for Saudi Arabia.

Four Saudi nationals, two individuals from Bangladesh and one person each from the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt were among the dead, the Saudi civil aviation authority stated. The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia remarked on Sunday that an Indian man had succumbed to the injuries he sustained in the attack. Riyadh airport attack another dangerous moment in already tense conflict.

As well as drones previously 24 hours, the Houthis remarked they had targeted the airport with a mix of ballistic and cruise missiles.

He cautioned that Saudi airports were "potential targets and sites for operations by our forces", apart from those in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

While other western embassies have cautioned their nationals concerning travel in the region, the UK Foreign Office is advising against all travel to parts of Saudi Arabia, including areas within 10km (6.2 miles) of the border with Yemen. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband remarked he was "appalled" by the attack.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition vowed to respond to Saturday's attack. It it called a "war crime" and blamed on the Houthis.

Houthi-run Al Masirah TV remarked "the Saudi enemy" had rolled out an air strike on Sanaa International Airport in Yemen's capital. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed the attack and the BBC has been unable to verify this claim.

Abdullah Al-Alimi Bawazir, vice-president of Yemen's internationally recognised administration, called on "decisive actions" from regional and international partners.

According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attacks and, a US citizen was killed in the strikes.

Asked whether the US planned to additionally conduct strikes on the Houthis, US President Donald Trump stated it may, adding: "We're going to look at it. We just discovered out concerning the recent attack, so we'll create a decision. We move particularly swiftly."

Riyadh's airport was struck on Thursday, an attack that killed three Saudi nationals. The Houthis asserted responsibility and stated they had applied cruise missiles to target the airport.

There were two other deadly attacks on Saudi airports in Abha and Riyadh in the two days prior to that.

For context, the latest uptick in violence comes after a temporary ceasefire between the Houthis and Saudi-led forces, brokered in 2022, collapsed in July.

For context, the conflict worsened after the Houthis seized strategically significant stretches of the Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive, prompting Saudi strikes. Yemeni pro-government forces afterwards stated they had secured the regions.

Meanwhile, the Houthis at present control around a quarter of Yemeni territory and as much as 80% of the country's population. The Iran-backed armed group hopes to eventually seize complete control.

Saudi Arabia fears this would lead to the establishment of an Iranian satellite state on its southern border.

For now, saudi capital airport hit by second strike in two days remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.