Three Killed in Houthi Attacks on Saudi Airports Amid Escalating Yemen Conflict
The rebel group claimed responsibility for drone and missile strikes on Abha and Riyadh airports, drawing condemnation and threats of retaliation from the Saudi-led coalition.
Three people were killed and 36 wounded in separate attacks on Saudi Arabian airports on October 6 and 7, according to Saudi authorities. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the drone and ballistic missile strikes, which targeted Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The attacks represent a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict in Yemen.
In the attack on Abha International Airport, near the Yemeni border, two women—one of Moroccan nationality and another of Algerian nationality—were killed, and 28 people were injured, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (Gaca) reported. At King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, one person of Sudanese nationality was killed and eight were wounded.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree stated that the strikes on Saudi airports were in retaliation for what he described as "60 airstrikes and missile attacks" by the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen in the preceding 24 hours. He also reported that the Houthis had attacked Aden International Airport in Yemen on Wednesday.
The renewed fighting comes as the Houthis, who control much of northwestern Yemen, have recently seized strategic areas along the Red Sea coast, including the port of Mokha on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical chokepoint for global shipping. However, Yemeni pro-government forces, supported by Saudi Arabia, have since stated they have secured the strait and declared an all-out war to reclaim Houthi-held territory.
The Saudi-led coalition, formed in 2015, condemned the Houthi attacks, vowing they "will not go unpunished." The coalition stated it had targeted over 80 Houthi military sites in response.
A temporary ceasefire in Yemen, brokered in 2022 after years of conflict that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths and one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, had offered a period of relative calm. However, the current escalation has led to hundreds of reported deaths on both sides and the displacement of over 200,000 people, according to the United Nations.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the cross-border attacks and expressed deep concern over the sharp escalation in fighting.