Three Saudi nationals killed in Houthi attacks on Riyadh airport

Three Saudi nationals were killed when Houthi forces launched two ballistic missiles at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Thursday, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) reported. The first missile struck the airport itself, while the second hit a Saudia aircraft, killing one of the airline’s pilots. The attacks also injured a number of Saudi citizens and residents of various nationalities, though air traffic resumed shortly after the incident. Yemen’s Iran‑backed Houthi movement claimed responsibility, saying the missiles were part of a broader campaign that also targeted an airport in Najran near the Saudi‑Yemen border and the Khamis Mushait air base further north, though Saudi officials have not confirmed those additional strikes.

The Riyadh attacks follow a recent surge in Houthi operations against Saudi infrastructure, coming just days after three people were killed in separate missile strikes on Abha International Airport and King Khalid Airport. The Houthi military spokesman framed the airport attacks as retaliation for what he described as “Saudi aggression,” citing 60 Saudi air strikes and missile attacks on Houthi positions in the preceding 24 hours. The group’s broader strategy is to pressure Saudi Arabia over its support for Yemen’s internationally recognised government, especially as the Houthis have recently seized key Red Sea coastal areas, including the strategic port of Mokha on the Bab al‑Mandab Strait, a vital global shipping chokepoint.

These developments underscore an escalating phase of the Yemen conflict, which has intensified since the Houthis’ rapid offensive along the Red Sea coast. While pro‑government Yemeni forces claim to have re‑secured the Bab al‑Mandab Strait, the Houthi declaration of a “maritime embargo” against Saudi Arabia and their continued missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities, and tankers signal a widening of hostilities. The renewed violence threatens to destabilise regional trade routes, strain the fragile ceasefire brokered in 2022, and further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis that has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives across Yemen.

⚡ Effects Interpreter