Riyadh airport hit by fresh Houthi strike day after deadly attack

Riyadh airport hit by fresh Houthi strike day after deadly attack.

Key points

• Four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis, one American, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian and one Sudanese were killed, the civil aviation authority remarked, with 309 wounded.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country does not have diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, additionally denounced the "horrific terrorist attack".
• Saturday's airport strike, on the eve of Saudi Arabia's high-profile convention and entertainment season, was the deadliest attack in the kingdom since a 2015 suicide bombing.
• Hours afterwards, the Saudi coalition fighting the group noted that a projectile struck King Khalid International Airport, sparking a fire.
• Houthi media documented two Saudi strikes in Yemen's Houthi-controlled Sanaa governorate on Sunday.

Riyadh airport hit by fresh Houthi strike day after deadly attack. AFP Published October 11, 2026 Updated October 11, 2026 10: 44pm. Join our Whatsapp Channel.

Meanwhile, a fresh Houthi strike hit Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, a day after another attack asserted by the Yemeni group killed at least a dozen residents and forced authorities to suspend operations at the facility.

Saturday's attack, the deadliest on Saudi soil in more than a decade, was a sharp escalation in the Yemen war, where Riyadh backs the internationally recognised administration against the Houthis.

In practice, the group on Sunday asserted multiple attacks over the last 24 hours, including on the airport, and threatened to keep targeting the kingdom's transit hubs, calling them "a theatre of operations for our forces".

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree remarked the group "carried out four qualitative operations in the past 24 hours using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones".

As well as the Dammam airport and two facilities belonging to the Saudi state oil business Aramco, saree remarked they targeted the Riyadh airport multiple times.

Hours afterwards, the Saudi coalition fighting the group noted that a projectile struck King Khalid International Airport, sparking a fire. Air defences additionally intercepted a missile nearby, it went on.

In practice, the civil aviation authority remarked the attack caused an unspecified number of injuries, and that a damage assessment was underway.

AFP journalists and locals documented hearing the sound of multiple blasts in the Saudi capital on Sunday.

"The birds went into a frenzy after the sound. The whole house shook, " remarked one resident of the Al-Aarid neighbourhood in the north of the city.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have stepped up their attacks on the Riyadh airport – where three individuals were additionally killed on Thursday – as well as on other key targets in the world's top crude oil exporter.

And although Saudi Arabia has poured billions into its military, Houthi attacks continue to slip through.

"Saudi air defences have been able to intercept some Houthi missile and drone attacks, but Saudi Arabia is so large that it's simply impossible for them to consistently defend themselves against Houthi attacks, " remarked Thomas Juneau, security analyst at Ottawa University.

Notably, the anti-Houthi coalition called Saturday's attack a "full-fledged war crime" and vowed to "respond decisively".

Saturday's attack drew condemnation from the United Nations and leaders worldwide, including US President Donald Trump. This person remarked he was considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis.

In practice, the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia additionally stated one of its citizens died on Sunday after being wounded the day before.

As it did not appear to include those with minor wounds, a Riyadh-based Western diplomat informed AFP the official number of injured may not provide a full picture.

Authorities suspended operations at the airport into Sunday, a senior aviation source remarked, with air traffic monitor Flightradar24 saying the closure was extended until 21: 00 GMT (2am PKT on Monday).

For context, a second aviation source confirmed the halt in operations "until further notice", adding radar and communications equipment was damaged and runways needed to be assessed. Witnesses to Saturday's strike described chaos in the aftermath.

"People who were in Terminal 3 started running towards us, " a 32-year-old Riyadh resident informed AFP.

"Some had lost a hand or an arm. Individuals were running while carrying injured residents, covered in blood."

Meanwhile, the attack prompted health authorities to activate a rare mass call-up of doctors, a medical source stated.

While Australia called on its citizens on Sunday to stay indoors altogether and "shelter in place", the US, Canadian, German and Spanish embassies in Saudi Arabia have cautioned their citizens to avoid Riyadh airport.

Meanwhile, the Houthis additionally maintained to have targeted the Dammam airport, whose official website on Sunday indicated numerous flights – both departures and arrivals – were delayed.

With the summer heat subsiding, October additionally usually marks the beginning of the high season for Umrah pilgrims, with millions of Muslims from throughout the world flocking to Makkah.

Saudi Arabia leads an international coalition that has backed Yemen's administration militarily since 2015, including by seeking to exert control over Yemeni airspace and the airport in the Houthi-held capital Sanaa.

Ottawa University's Juneau remarked the Houthis now "want to rewrite the rules of the game".

"They want to do to Saudi Arabia what Saudi Arabia does to them, " he remarked.

"So if their airport in Sanaa has to be closed because of the Saudi air embargo, they want to do the same thing to Saudi Arabia."

On the ground in Yemen, Saudi-supported administration forces were advancing in their counter-offensive against the Houthis around the Bab al-Mandab strait, a key shipping route, military sources stated on Saturday. The Houthis asserted to have repelled them.

Claims by both sides have been impossible to independently verify, with the situation moving fast on the ground and access for journalists tough.

In short, riyadh airport hit by fresh Houthi strike day after deadly attack is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.