Several injured as Saudi capital airport reportedly hit again

Multiple casualties have been reported following a suspected strike on the primary international airport serving Saudi Arabia's capital on Saturday. The incident at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh prompted an evacuation after a loud explosion rattled the facility, according to international media reports.

Emergency responders mobilized rapidly following the blast, with eyewitnesses observing over twelve ambulances heading toward the scene, Reuters reported. In addition, an anonymous medical source at a regional hospital informed AFP that dozens of individuals sustained injuries during the suspected assault. Official statements from Saudi authorities have not yet been released, though airport management advised travelers to verify their flight statuses directly with carriers before heading to the terminal.

The disruption quickly spread across regional aviation networks. Flight tracking data from Flightradar indicated that inbound flights heading to Riyadh were either redirected or canceled entirely. Multiple regional carriers, including Kuwait Airways, grounded scheduled services, pointing to active security concerns on the ground. Meanwhile, several Western diplomatic missions issued advisories urging their citizens to stay away from the airport vicinity.

This latest strike follows a sequence of cross-border operations claimed by Yemen's Houthi movement. Just one day earlier, officials confirmed that three Saudi citizens, among them an aircraft pilot, died during a pair of Houthi strikes. Those fatalities came on top of three other deaths recorded earlier in the week during strikes targeting two Saudi aviation facilities on October 6 and 7.

The cross-border strikes point to a severe breakdown in stability following the collapse of an informal truce. A ceasefire originally mediated in 2022 had largely paused major hostilities that started after a Saudi-led alliance intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the internationally recognized government against the Iran-aligned Houthis.

Tensions began re-escalating sharply in July when Houthi forces declared an embargo on maritime movements linked to Saudi Arabia. The group subsequently initiated a campaign of drone and missile strikes aimed at Saudi oil infrastructure, commercial vessels navigating the Red Sea, and civilian airports. The rebels have characterized the strikes as retaliation for an airstrike against the airport in Sanaa and long-standing blockade policies.

The conflict has also escalated along the Red Sea coast, where Houthi units recently captured positions near the vital Bab al-Mandab Strait, including the port town of Mokha. While pro-government forces later asserted control over the narrow maritime chokepoint, the ongoing violence threatens to further destabilize crucial global shipping corridors.