A fresh Houthi missile strike hit Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, killing one Pakistani national and injuring 11 others. The attack came just one day after a far deadlier assault by the Yemeni group that forced authorities to suspend all flights at the busy hub.
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority confirmed the latest casualty figures and said airport operations remain closed until 2100 GMT on Monday. Local residents in northern Riyadh reported hearing several loud blasts that shook homes and sent birds into a panic. Air defenses managed to intercept one incoming projectile near the airport while another struck the site and sparked a fire.
The same day, officials reported a separate attack on Dammam airport in the east. Shortly afterwards coalition forces shot down a drone in the same region. Early Monday the Saudi-led coalition also announced it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile heading toward Khamis Mushait, home to a major military base.
Saturday’s earlier strike on Riyadh airport was the deadliest on Saudi soil in more than a decade. It killed 13 people from multiple nationalities and wounded over 300. The Houthis claimed responsibility for both attacks and vowed to keep targeting the kingdom’s airports, describing them as legitimate theatres of operations.
Iran’s foreign minister spoke with his Saudi counterpart and offered to help start dialogue between Riyadh and the Houthis. He warned that continued military action would only make the situation worse. Meanwhile the anti-Houthi coalition labeled the airport attacks a full-fledged war crime and promised a decisive response.
Houthi media reported two Saudi airstrikes in Sanaa governorate on Sunday, claiming one civilian death and several injuries. On the ground in Yemen, government forces continued advancing near the Bab al-Mandab Strait while the Houthis claimed to have pushed them back. Independent verification remains difficult amid the fast-moving conflict.
Several embassies have urged their citizens to avoid Riyadh airport and stay indoors. The latest violence marks a sharp escalation in the long-running Yemen war and raises fresh concerns about regional stability.
