Three people died and 36 were wounded when Iranian-backed Houthi forces struck two major Saudi airports on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the casualties at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and Abha International Airport in the south. An Egyptian and an Algerian national lost their lives at Abha, while a Sudanese national was killed in Riyadh. The attacks forced the diversion of a flight from Cairo to Jeddah after a missile landed near the runway at Abha.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility, stating on X that they targeted King Khalid Airport with a ballistic missile and disrupted air traffic. The Saudi-led coalition, which has been supporting Yemen’s government since 2015, said it intercepted the missile and destroyed the launch platform used in the Riyadh attack.
This is the second time this week that Houthis have targeted the main airport in the Saudi capital. The strikes occur as the Yemeni civil war intensifies after a four-year ceasefire collapsed in July. The UN reported that the fighting has displaced more than 200,000 people within Yemen, with the government launching a counter-offensive to retake coastal areas held by the Houthis.
On the ground in Yemen, the situation remains volatile. At least 62 combatants, including 37 Houthis, died in new clashes in the west on Wednesday. A Houthi missile also struck the city of Taiz, wounding five civilians. Taiz resident Al-Fateh al-Eisaei told AFP that a shell landed in a crowded street, hitting young civilians. The humanitarian crisis deepens as most of Yemen’s population relies on aid, with residents in cities like Mocha reporting life has come to a standstill.