Saudi Arabian authorities confirmed on Wednesday that three individuals were killed and 36 others injured following coordinated attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement on two major international airports. The incidents represent a significant escalation in the conflict, which reignited in July after a four-year ceasefire.
The civil aviation authority reported that both King Khalid International Airport in the capital, Riyadh, and Abha International Airport were targeted. Casualties included an Egyptian and an Algerian national at Abha, while a Sudanese citizen was killed at the Riyadh facility.
Shortly after the airport assaults, the Saudi-led military coalition announced it had destroyed the ballistic missile launch platform utilized in the Riyadh strike. In a subsequent statement posted on social media, the coalition directly blamed the Houthi militia and vowed retaliation for the “brutal attacks” on civilian infrastructure.
“The brutal attacks by the Terrorist Houthi Militia on civilian and civilian objects in the Kingdom, most recently targeting (the two airports) will not go unpunished,” the coalition stated. It added that retaliatory operations had since destroyed 82 “legitimate military targets,” including mountain-based missile facilities, command-and-control centers, communication systems, and assembly points for Houthi fighters.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for the strikes, stating on X that armed forces had targeted King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile. While he asserted the strike was accurate and disrupted air traffic, the Saudi-led coalition maintained that the missile was intercepted. The group also alleged attacks on a military supply convoy near Aden’s airport and claimed hits on King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait.
The airport attacks occurred amid intensified ground fighting. Yemen’s internationally recognized government recently declared a major counter-offensive, claiming to have pushed Houthi forces out of strategic areas along the Red Sea coastline, including the port city of Mocha. However, Houthi sources deny losing territory, and independent verification remains difficult due to restricted journalist access.
The renewed hostilities have triggered a severe humanitarian crisis. The United Nations reported that more than 200,000 people have been displaced within Yemen since the war resumed. New clashes in western Yemen on Wednesday alone resulted in at least 62 combatant deaths, including 37 Houthis. Additionally, a missile strike on the government-held city of Taiz wounded five civilians.
Residents described scenes of panic. Al-Fateh al-Eisaei told AFP that a Houthi shell landed in a crowded street, injuring young civilians. Mohammed, a charity worker who fled Mocha for Aden, expressed the widespread fear gripping the population, noting that “people there are terrified” of Houthi reprisals.
Saudi Arabia has led the international coalition against the Houthis since 2015 and has committed to providing air support for the Yemeni government’s current counter-offensive as it seeks to regain control of territory held by the Iran-backed group for over a decade.
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