Attacks on two Saudi airports have killed three people and injured 36, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said on October 7, marking a sharp escalation in the widening conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition.
What GACA confirmed
The strikes hit Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Wednesday and Abha International Airport on Tuesday, according to the aviation authority's statement.
At Abha on October 6, two people were killed — identified only by nationality as a Moroccan woman and an Algerian woman — and 28 people were wounded, with injuries ranging from minor to severe. At Riyadh on October 7, one person was killed — a Sudanese resident — and eight were wounded: five Saudi nationals, two Egyptian residents and one Pakistani resident.
GACA did not name who was behind the attacks. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree separately claimed responsibility, saying drones targeted the Riyadh airport while ballistic missiles and drones targeted Abha and the Khamis Mushait airbase. That claim is the Houthis' own statement and has not been independently verified by Saudi authorities.
Escalation widens
The Saudi-led coalition vowed the attacks "will not go unpunished" and said it struck more than 80 Houthi military sites across Saada, Hodeidah, Jawf and Marib in response. The US Mission in Saudi Arabia issued a security alert warning of possible flight cancellations and airspace closures.
The violence is not confined to the kingdom. In Yemen, a missile landed near the runway at Aden airport on October 7, minutes before Yemenia Airways flight 603 from Cairo was due to land. The flight was diverted to Jeddah, and no casualties were reported there.
The airport attacks come as Yemen's war has sharply intensified: coalition aircraft have been conducting an offensive dubbed the "Dawn of Yemen," while Houthi forces have targeted Saudi infrastructure, including an Aramco facility near Riyadh reported earlier this week.
Sources:
CNN — Houthi Attacks on Saudi Airports Kill Three, Injure 36 (Oct 7, 2026)
The National — Houthis Claim Dawn Drone and Missile Strikes on Saudi and Yemeni Airports (Oct 7, 2026)
What GACA confirmed
The strikes hit Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Wednesday and Abha International Airport on Tuesday, according to the aviation authority's statement.
At Abha on October 6, two people were killed — identified only by nationality as a Moroccan woman and an Algerian woman — and 28 people were wounded, with injuries ranging from minor to severe. At Riyadh on October 7, one person was killed — a Sudanese resident — and eight were wounded: five Saudi nationals, two Egyptian residents and one Pakistani resident.
GACA did not name who was behind the attacks. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree separately claimed responsibility, saying drones targeted the Riyadh airport while ballistic missiles and drones targeted Abha and the Khamis Mushait airbase. That claim is the Houthis' own statement and has not been independently verified by Saudi authorities.
Escalation widens
The Saudi-led coalition vowed the attacks "will not go unpunished" and said it struck more than 80 Houthi military sites across Saada, Hodeidah, Jawf and Marib in response. The US Mission in Saudi Arabia issued a security alert warning of possible flight cancellations and airspace closures.
The violence is not confined to the kingdom. In Yemen, a missile landed near the runway at Aden airport on October 7, minutes before Yemenia Airways flight 603 from Cairo was due to land. The flight was diverted to Jeddah, and no casualties were reported there.
The airport attacks come as Yemen's war has sharply intensified: coalition aircraft have been conducting an offensive dubbed the "Dawn of Yemen," while Houthi forces have targeted Saudi infrastructure, including an Aramco facility near Riyadh reported earlier this week.
Sources:
CNN — Houthi Attacks on Saudi Airports Kill Three, Injure 36 (Oct 7, 2026)
The National — Houthis Claim Dawn Drone and Missile Strikes on Saudi and Yemeni Airports (Oct 7, 2026)
