Explosions rock Riyadh as Houthi attacks disrupt Saudi airport operations

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia | Several explosions were heard across the Saudi capital on Thursday, including a blast near King Khalid International Airport that disrupted flights, as Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed it had launched a ballistic missile at the airport. Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed the latest Houthi claim or identified the cause of the explosions.

The latest incidents came a day after Saudi authorities reported that Houthi attacks on airports in Riyadh and Abha had killed three people and injured 36 others. One person was killed and eight wounded in the attack involving King Khalid International Airport, while two people were killed and 28 injured at Abha airport, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities cited by Reuters and The Associated Press.

Reuters reported that numerous arrivals and departures at King Khalid International Airport were delayed on Thursday. Some companies in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District told employees to work from home following the morning explosions, while some schools reportedly instructed parents to shelter their children. Reuters said it could not independently establish the source of the blasts.

The Houthis later said they had targeted King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile. Saudi Arabia had not immediately responded to or confirmed the claim, making it important to distinguish the reported explosions from the Houthi attribution.

The escalation follows a sharp deterioration in Yemen’s war. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have launched an offensive against the Houthis around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea coastal city of Mocha, with Saudi air support. Reuters reported that the fighting has displaced more than 200,000 people since the latest round of hostilities began.

Saudi Arabia has also intensified its military response. Reuters reported that the Saudi-led coalition said it had struck more than 80 Houthi military sites in Yemen following the airport attacks. Turkey is considering defensive and technical assistance for Saudi Arabia, while Pakistan has agreed to deploy additional military forces under a new defense arrangement involving the two countries and Saudi Arabia. Syria is also considering whether to provide military assistance, although Syrian officials have emphasized the country’s own postwar recovery needs.

The renewed fighting marks a major reversal after years of relative calm. Yemen’s civil war intensified in 2014 when the Houthis seized control of Sanaa, prompting Saudi Arabia to intervene militarily in March 2015 at the request of the internationally recognized Yemeni government. A United Nations-brokered nationwide truce took effect in April 2022 and significantly reduced fighting, but the parties failed to renew it after six months.

The current fighting also has implications beyond Yemen and Saudi Arabia because of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Reuters has reported that Houthi control or disruption of the area could threaten shipping and energy flows, particularly as the wider regional conflict has already disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

For Riyadh, the immediate concern is the protection of civilian infrastructure and air travel as the conflict moves closer to the Saudi capital. For the wider region, the attacks raise the possibility that the renewed Yemen war could draw additional countries into a conflict that had already become one of the Middle East’s longest-running and most consequential wars.

Explosions rock Riyadh as Houthi attacks disrupt Saudi airport operations

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia | October 8, 2026 | Several explosions were heard across the Saudi capital on Thursday, including a blast near King Khalid International Airport that disrupted flights, as Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed it had launched a ballistic missile at the airport. Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed the latest Houthi claim or identified the cause of the explosions.

The latest incidents came a day after Saudi authorities reported that Houthi attacks on airports in Riyadh and Abha had killed three people and injured 36 others. One person was killed and eight wounded in the attack involving King Khalid International Airport, while two people were killed and 28 injured at Abha airport, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities cited by Reuters and The Associated Press.

Reuters reported that numerous arrivals and departures at King Khalid International Airport were delayed on Thursday. Some companies in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District told employees to work from home following the morning explosions, while some schools reportedly instructed parents to shelter their children. Reuters said it could not independently establish the source of the blasts.

The Houthis later said they had targeted King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile. Saudi Arabia had not immediately responded to or confirmed the claim, making it important to distinguish the reported explosions from the Houthi attribution.

The escalation follows a sharp deterioration in Yemen’s war. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have launched an offensive against the Houthis around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea coastal city of Mocha, with Saudi air support. Reuters reported that the fighting has displaced more than 200,000 people since the latest round of hostilities began.

Saudi Arabia has also intensified its military response. Reuters reported that the Saudi-led coalition said it had struck more than 80 Houthi military sites in Yemen following the airport attacks. Turkey is considering defensive and technical assistance for Saudi Arabia, while Pakistan has agreed to deploy additional military forces under a new defense arrangement involving the two countries and Saudi Arabia. Syria is also considering whether to provide military assistance, although Syrian officials have emphasized the country’s own postwar recovery needs.

The renewed fighting marks a major reversal after years of relative calm. Yemen’s civil war intensified in 2014 when the Houthis seized control of Sanaa, prompting Saudi Arabia to intervene militarily in March 2015 at the request of the internationally recognized Yemeni government. A United Nations-brokered nationwide truce took effect in April 2022 and significantly reduced fighting, but the parties failed to renew it after six months.

The current fighting also has implications beyond Yemen and Saudi Arabia because of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the strategic waterway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Reuters has reported that Houthi control or disruption of the area could threaten shipping and energy flows, particularly as the wider regional conflict has already disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

For Riyadh, the immediate concern is the protection of civilian infrastructure and air travel as the conflict moves closer to the Saudi capital. For the wider region, the attacks raise the possibility that the renewed Yemen war could draw additional countries into a conflict that had already become one of the Middle East’s longest-running and most consequential wars.