Saudi Arabia reopens Riyadh airport after Houthi attack kills three

Saudi Arabia has seen several attacks by the Houthis in recent days, with the airports appearing to be the primary target.

Smoke and flames rise from King Khalid airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 8, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video [Reuters]

Saudi Arabia has reopened Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport following attacks by the Houthis that killed three people and injured several.

In a statement on social media on Friday, the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said attacks the previous day had hit airport facilities and an aircraft belonging to state carrier Saudia.

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The Houthis have hit Saudi airports in several attacks this week as the armed group continues to face an offensive by the Riyadh-backed internationally recognised Yemen government.

The strikes on Thursday caused injuries ranging from minor to severe, as well as material damage, GACA said. Airport operations have now resumed and air traffic has returned to normal.

Saudia Airlines said one of its pilots was killed and an aircraft was damaged.

“It is with profound sadness that Saudia announces the passing of Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami,” the flag-carrier said in a statement, citing an “incident” at the Riyadh airport.

Saudia paid tribute to its pilot who was killed in Thursday’s strikes [File: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters]

GACA said Wednesday that attacks earlier in the week had killed three civilians and injured 36 at Abha and King Khalid airports. At least three people were also wounded in other attacks on Jazan and Najran airports near the Yemen border.

A Houthi military spokesperson said on Thursday that the armed group had launched a ballistic missile towards King Khalid airport, claiming that the missile had successfully hit its intended target, causing damage and disrupting air traffic.

The campaign appears to be a revival of a tactic seen last month.

On September 18, Saudi-led coalition forces said they intercepted and destroyed a suspected Houthi ballistic missile fired towards King Khalid airport.

A day later, at least one explosion was heard near the airport in Riyadh, and a large plume of black smoke was seen rising from a fuel storage area.

The Houthis have warned aviation companies to avoid using Saudi airspace, saying any aircraft operating in there, except over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, is a target.

‘Substantial forces’

The return to the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s airports comes as Yemeni forces continue a counteroffensive against the Houthis.

The push was launched after the Iran-aligned rebel group last month seized a broad swath of territory along the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, in a sudden push.

The Yemeni government forces this week claimed key gains around the Bab al-Mandeb coastline, but intense fighting continues.

The conflict, which was frozen for some years until it was brought back to life by the United States’ war on Iran, has stoked further upheaval in a region already destabilised by Israel’s wars on Gaza and Lebanon.

It now threatens to draw other states into the conflict, with Pakistan and Turkiye having agreed to deploy troops under a mutual defence pact signed with Saudi Arabia earlier this year.

A spokesman for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday that the country now has a “substantial number of forces as well as resources … in Riyadh”.

Pakistani military personnel “would not be crossing the borders of the other side for an attack on the Houthis, but of course (are acting) in the defence of the territory”, he noted.

Rocket launch platforms

The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s government said on Friday that it had destroyed three rocket launch platforms that were used by the Houthis “to threaten regional security”.

Spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki declared that all Houthi attacks on civilians and civilian facilities “will be met with resolve” by the Saudi-led coalition.

On Thursday, the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles heading in the direction of Riyadh, and one missile in the direction of the city of Khamis Mushait, close to the Yemeni border.

Earlier in the week, its armed forces carried out 97 “precise targeting operations” against Houthi reinforcements on the Tor al-Baha front and the Taiz axis, using warplanes, drones, artillery, missiles and snipers, it added.

沙特阿拉伯近日遭到胡塞武装多次袭击，机场似乎是主要目标。

2026年10月8日，沙特阿拉伯利雅得的哈立德国王机场冒出浓烟和火焰。这张截图来自社交媒体视频。[路透社]

在胡塞武装发动袭击造成三人死亡、多人受伤后，沙特阿拉伯重新开放了利雅得的哈立德国王国际机场。

沙特阿拉伯民航总局（GACA）周五在社交媒体上发表声明称，前一天的袭击事件波及了机场设施和沙特阿拉伯国家航空公司的一架飞机。

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本周，胡塞武装多次袭击沙特阿拉伯机场，该武装组织正面临由利雅得支持的、国际公认的也门政府的持续攻势。

沙特民航总局（GACA）表示，周四的罢工造成了不同程度的人员伤亡和财产损失。目前机场运营已恢复，空中交通也已恢复正常。

沙特阿拉伯航空公司表示，其一名飞行员遇难，一架飞机受损。

沙特阿拉伯航空公司在一份声明中表示：“我们怀着无比沉痛的心情宣布，机长哈穆德·阿里·阿尔卡尔萨米不幸去世。”声明中还提到，事故发生在利雅得机场。

沙特阿拉伯航空公司向在周四空袭中丧生的飞行员致敬。[图片：Amr Abdallah Dalsh/路透社]

沙特民航总局（GACA）周三表示，本周早些时候发生在艾卜哈和哈立德国王机场的袭击事件造成三名平民死亡，36人受伤。此外，在靠近也门边境的吉赞和纳季兰机场发生的其他袭击事件中，至少有三人受伤。

胡塞武装发言人周四表示，该武装组织向哈立德国王机场发射了一枚弹道导弹，并声称该导弹成功击中了预定目标，造成破坏并扰乱了空中交通。

这次行动似乎是对上个月出现的一种策略的重新演绎。

9月18日，沙特领导的联军表示，他们拦截并摧毁了一枚疑似胡塞武装向哈立德国王机场发射的弹道导弹。

一天后，利雅得机场附近至少发生了一次爆炸，并且可以看到一股巨大的黑烟从燃料储存区升起。

胡塞武装警告各航空公司避免使用沙特阿拉伯领空，称除飞越圣城麦加和麦地那外，任何在沙特领空飞行的飞机都是攻击目标。

“实质性力量”

沙特阿拉伯机场再次遭到袭击之际，也门军队正继续对胡塞武装发起反攻。

上个月，伊朗支持的叛军组织突然发动攻势，占领了连接红海和亚丁湾的战略要道曼德海峡沿岸的大片领土。此后，伊朗方面发起了此次攻势。

也门政府军本周声称在曼德海峡沿岸取得重要进展，但激烈战斗仍在继续。

这场冲突曾一度停滞多年，直到美国对伊朗发动战争才重新燃起，并进一步加剧了该地区的动荡，而该地区此前已因以色列对加沙和黎巴嫩的战争而陷入混乱。

现在，这场冲突有可能将其他国家卷入其中，因为巴基斯坦和土耳其已同意根据今年早些时候与沙特阿拉伯签署的共同防御条约部署军队。

巴基斯坦外交部发言人周五表示，该国目前在利雅得拥有“大量兵力和资源”。

他指出，巴基斯坦军方人员“不会越过对方边界去攻击胡塞武装，但当然（他们）是在保卫领土”。

火箭发射平台

支持也门政府的沙特领导的联军周五表示，他们摧毁了胡塞武装用来“威胁地区安全”的三个火箭发射平台。

发言人图尔基·马利基上校宣布，沙特领导的联军将“坚决回击”胡塞武装对平民和民用设施的所有袭击。

周四，联军表示，他们拦截并摧毁了两枚飞向利雅得方向的弹道导弹，以及一枚飞向靠近也门边境的哈米斯穆沙伊特市方向的导弹。

声明还补充说，本周早些时候，其武装部队在托尔巴哈前线和塔伊兹轴线上对胡塞武装增援部队进行了 97 次“精确打击行动”，动用了战机、无人机、火炮、导弹和狙击手。