Riyadh Airport Struck For A Second Day

One person was killed and 11 injured at King Khalid International Airport, a day after 13 died and 308 were wounded — the deadliest single attack on a Gulf state since February. The Houthis say more is coming.

Saudi Arabia’s capital came under a second consecutive missile and drone attack on its main international airport as the Iran-backed Houthis declared every Saudi airport a target except those in Mecca and Medina, and warned airlines and passengers away from the kingdom’s airspace.

A Saudi military spokesman said a projectile hit King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, starting a fire in a passenger hall. The General Authority of Civil Aviation said one person — a Pakistani resident — was killed and 11 injured. It followed a strike on the same airport the previous day that killed 13 people and injured 308, the deadliest single attack on a Gulf Arab country since the war between Israel, the US and Iran began in February.

Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said air defences intercepted a missile near the airport while authorities fought the fire caused by an “unknown projectile” that struck Passenger Hall No 4. Houthi military spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree said the group had used a mix of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones over the past 24 hours, also attacking oil facilities and Dammam airport in eastern Saudi Arabia. He vowed continuing “escalating operations deep inside Saudi Arabia.” The Houthis say they are acting because of Saudi support for government forces in Yemen’s civil war and an airstrike on Sanaa’s airport.

The death toll from Saturday alone included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis, and one national each from the US, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, the civil aviation authority said. The Indian embassy said an Indian national died later of injuries. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attacks and confirmed a US citizen was killed; UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said he was “appalled.” The coalition called Saturday’s attack a “war crime” and vowed to respond.

Internationally, President Donald Trump said the US would “make a decision” and “move very quickly” on whether to strike the Houthis, while UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting suggested Britain could “potentially” provide more support for Saudi Arabia. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Saudi counterpart that Tehran was ready to “facilitate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen,” referring to the Houthi administration. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported a Saudi airstrike on Sanaa International Airport and on a residential home, killing a child and injuring six; Saudi Arabia has not confirmed this and the BBC could not verify it.

The escalation follows the July collapse of a 2022-brokered ceasefire between the Houthis and Saudi-led forces. Fighting intensified after the Houthis seized strategically important stretches of the Red Sea coast in a rapid offensive, prompting Saudi strikes, before pro-government forces said they retook those areas. The group controls about a quarter of Yemen’s territory and as much as 80% of its population, and Saudi Arabia fears an Iranian satellite state on its southern border. Yemen’s internationally recognised vice-president, Abdullah Al-Alimi Bawazir, urged “decisive actions” from regional and international partners.

Analysis

Naming Saudi Arabia’s entire airport network — with the pointed exception of Islam’s two holiest cities — is a calibrated escalation. It is aimed as much at insurers, carriers and the pilgrimage and transit economy as at military targets, and the pattern of Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday attacks suggests saturation rather than a single symbolic blow. Air-defence interception, demonstrated repeatedly, is the counterweight. What is missing is any off-ramp: the ceasefire is gone, the coalition has adopted “war crime” language, Washington is weighing strikes, and Tehran is offering mediation in the same breath it is accused of arming the attacker. Travel advisories are already tightening.