An attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and injured 309 others on Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said, as the kingdom and Yemen’s Houthi movement exchanged strikes amid a renewed escalation of the conflict.
The fatalities included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals and one person each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan, the aviation authority said in a statement early Sunday. Several injured people were in serious condition and were receiving treatment at hospitals.
The attack prompted authorities to suspend airport operations temporarily while damage assessments and safety checks were carried out. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the strike, according to Reuters and other international news reports.
The attack marked a major escalation in the campaign against Saudi infrastructure and intensified concerns over civilian aviation safety as fighting spread across Yemen and neighbouring areas.
Houthis Threaten Reciprocal Action as Saudi Strikes Yemen
Following the airport attack, the Houthi movement said it was prepared to take reciprocal measures against Saudi Arabia. The group said airports, seaports and other facilities serving humanitarian functions should remain outside the expanding military confrontation.
Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported that Saudi Arabia launched a fresh wave of air and missile strikes across areas under Houthi control in Yemen on Saturday. The reported targets included Sanaa International Airport, areas near the strategically important Bab al-Mandab Strait and several northern provinces.
The latest exchanges followed a major offensive launched by Yemen’s internationally recognised government, backed by Saudi air power, to retake territory held by the Houthis. Some of the heaviest fighting has centred on areas around Bab al-Mandab, a vital maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Yemeni government forces said more than 1,150 Houthi fighters had been “neutralized” and over 180 military and logistical vehicles destroyed or damaged in more than 1,900 strikes across several fronts during the preceding 24 hours. These figures could not be independently verified.
Near the southwestern city of Taiz, Houthi advances have increased pressure on government forces and disrupted important road links connecting the city with government-held territory in southern Yemen, military sources told Xinhua. Fierce clashes were continuing south of the city, the sources said.
Renewed Fighting Threatens Yemen’s Fragile Stability
Yemen’s conflict dates back to late 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and expanded their control across much of the country’s north. Saudi Arabia intervened in 2015 at the head of a military coalition supporting the internationally recognised government, which is now based in the southern port city of Aden.
A United Nations-brokered truce in 2022 substantially reduced major hostilities, although it did not resolve the underlying political and territorial disputes. The renewed fighting represents a significant escalation, with attacks on civilian infrastructure adding to the risks for residents and regional transport networks.
The latest developments also raise concerns about the security of commercial aviation and shipping routes in a region already affected by military confrontation. The scale of the airport casualties, the suspension of operations and the competing claims surrounding the fighting underline the growing civilian cost of the renewed conflict.