Houthi attack on Saudi airport kills 12, over 300 wounded, authorities say

A Houthi attack on Riyadh’s international airport in Riyadh on Saturday killed at least 12 people and wounded 309, Saudi authorities said. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the strike, the third attack on the airport this week. All flights were diverted and airport operations were temporarily suspended, while the attacks exposed vulnerabilities in Saudi Arabia’s defenses. U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington would decide whether to join Saudi strikes on the Houthis.

The dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis and one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.

The two earlier attacks this week killed four people and heavily damaged a Saudi commercial plane parked on the tarmac.

The attack occurred without warning because Saudi Arabia’s threat warning system issued no alert.

Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government have carried out hundreds of strikes on Houthi-held territory, while the Houthis have said those strikes killed civilians.

Riyadh is due to host major energy and investment conferences, whose organizers said on Saturday that the events would proceed as planned.

Published Oct 11, 2026 7:57 am KST

This image from video obtained and verified by AP shows thick black smoke and flames rising from a fire at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 9. AP-Yonhap

RIYADH — The third attack this week on Riyadh's international airport on Saturday left at least 12 people dead and more than 300 wounded, Saudi authorities said, and the Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for the strike, a major escalation of their campaign against the Saudis.

The dead included four Saudis, two people from Bangladesh and one person each from the U.S., Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, the Saudi civil aviation authority said. At the latest count, they said 309 were wounded.

Hospitals were flooded with wounded brought by ambulance and helicopter, people briefed on the matter said. Some were in critical condition.

Saturday's attack occurred without warning, with no alert issued by Saudi Arabia's threat warning system. This week's two previous attacks on King Khalid International Airport left four people dead and caused heavy damage to a Saudi commercial plane parked on the tarmac.

This week's deadly strikes exposed vulnerabilities in the kingdom's self-defence capabilities as it wages an air campaign against the Houthis to support a ground war by the Yemeni government against the Iran-backed group.

Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government have claimed hundreds of strikes on targets in Houthi-held territory. The Houthis have said these killed civilians including women and children.

Reuters could not independently verify those claims.

All flights were diverted from Riyadh on Saturday, and operations at the airport that serves a city of roughly 8 million people were temporarily suspended, the Saudi civil aviation authority said.

The head of the Houthi media office said in a post on X after the attack that the group had "shut down Riyadh international airport." The Houthis have said airliners should avoid Saudi airspace, declaring it a zone of military operations after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive against the group on Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters outside the White House, was asked whether Washington planned to join Saudi strikes on the Houthis.

"We may. We're going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we'll make a decision. We move very quickly," he said.

An ambulance is parked outside King Khalid International Airport after several people were wounded in an attack on the airport that forced a suspension of operations, according to Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 10, in this screengrab obtained from social media video. Reuters-Yonhap

Eyewitness saw wounded on the ground

One eyewitness at the airport on Saturday reported seeing an explosion and then multiple people lying injured on the ground inside. More than a dozen ambulances were seen rushing towards the facility. A video verified by Reuters showed ambulances at the airport.

An injured traveller told Reuters they saw something fly across the sky outside the airport before part of the ceiling near a departure gate collapsed.

The U.S. embassy in Riyadh said it was "aware of attacks" and "strongly recommends all U.S. citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas."

Saudi Arabia entered the Yemen war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition to try to force the Houthis out of the Yemeni capital Sanaa. The Houthis had stormed Sanaa the previous year, pushing out government forces.

The war was fought to a bloody stalemate, with hundreds of thousands of Yemenis killed by fighting and famine. Saudi Arabia struck a 2022 deal with the Houthis, freezing the conflict.

That ceasefire unravelled over the summer, culminating in a lightning Houthi advance that took the Red Sea chokepoint of Bab el-Mandeb from Saudi-backed government forces.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government began an offensive this week to try to retake that territory, which has so far made slow gains, even as the Houthis put the country's third-largest city, Taiz, under siege.

Riyadh due to hold major summits

Flight-tracking site flightradar24 showed all flights to Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled, with only a helicopter hovering over the airport at one point.

Houthi attacks on Thursday and earlier in the week had already prompted a number of carriers to suspend or cancel services to the Saudi capital, shortly before Riyadh is due to host major energy and investment conferences.

Organizers of those conferences said on Saturday they would go ahead as planned, and they sought to reassure attendees of their security.

沙特阿拉伯当局称，胡塞武装周六袭击利雅得国际机场，造成至少12人死亡，309人受伤。胡塞武装声称对此次袭击负责，这是本周该机场遭受的第三次袭击。所有航班被迫改道，机场运营暂时中止，此次袭击也暴露了沙特阿拉伯防御体系的漏洞。美国总统特朗普表示，华盛顿将决定是否加入沙特对胡塞武装的打击行动。

死者包括四名沙特阿拉伯人、两名孟加拉国人，以及分别来自美国、约旦、巴勒斯坦、叙利亚、苏丹和埃及的各一人。

本周早些时候发生的两起袭击事件造成四人死亡，并严重损坏了一架停在停机坪上的沙特阿拉伯商用飞机。

这次袭击毫无预警，因为沙特阿拉伯的威胁预警系统没有发出警报。

沙特阿拉伯和也门政府对胡塞武装控制的地区进行了数百次空袭，而胡塞武装则表示这些空袭造成了平民伤亡。

利雅得将举办大型能源和投资会议，会议组织者周六表示，会议将按计划进行。

发布于2026年10月11日 上午7:57（韩国标准时间）

这张由美联社获取并核实的视频截图显示，10月9日，沙特阿拉伯利雅得哈立德国王国际机场发生火灾，浓浓黑烟和火焰熊熊燃烧。美联社-韩联社

利雅得——沙特当局称，本周第三次针对利雅得国际机场的袭击于周六发生，造成至少 12 人死亡，300 多人受伤。伊朗支持的胡塞武装声称对此次袭击负责，这是他们针对沙特的行动的重大升级。

沙特民航局表示，遇难者包括四名沙特公民、两名孟加拉国公民，以及分别来自美国、约旦、巴勒斯坦、叙利亚、苏丹和埃及的各一名公民。最新统计显示，另有309人受伤。

据知情人士透露，医院里挤满了救护车和直升机送来的伤员，其中一些伤势危重。

周六的袭击毫无预警，沙特阿拉伯的威胁预警系统也未发出任何警报。本周早些时候，哈立德国王国际机场发生的两起袭击事件造成四人死亡，并严重损毁了一架停在停机坪上的沙特商用飞机。

本周的致命空袭暴露了沙特阿拉伯王国自卫能力的脆弱性，该国正对胡塞武装发动空袭，以支持也门政府对伊朗支持的胡塞武装发动地面战争。

沙特阿拉伯和也门政府声称对胡塞武装控制区内的目标发动了数百次空袭。胡塞武装则表示，这些空袭造成包括妇女和儿童在内的平民死亡。

路透社无法独立核实这些说法。

沙特民航局表示，周六所有航班都改道飞往利雅得，这座服务于约800万人口城市的机场的运营暂时中止。

胡塞武装媒体办公室负责人袭击后在社交媒体X上发帖称，该组织已“关闭利雅得国际机场”。此前，沙特支持的也门政府于周一对该组织发动攻势，胡塞武装宣布沙特领空为军事行动区，并表示航空公司应避开沙特领空。

美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在白宫外接受记者采访时，被问及华盛顿是否计划加入沙特对胡塞武装的打击行动。

“我们可能会这么做。我们会考虑的。我们刚得知最近发生的袭击事件，所以我们会尽快做出决定。我们会迅速行动，”他说。

据沙特阿拉伯民航局消息，10月10日，在沙特阿拉伯首都利雅得，一辆救护车停在哈立德国王国际机场外。此前，该机场遭到袭击，多人受伤，导致机场运营暂停。这张截图来自社交媒体视频。路透社-韩联社

目击者看到地上有伤者。

周六，一名机场目击者称看到爆炸发生，随后看到多人受伤倒在机场内。十几辆救护车疾驰赶往现场。路透社核实的一段视频也显示了机场内的救护车。

一名受伤的旅客告诉路透社，他看到机场外有东西飞过天空，然后登机口附近的部分天花板坍塌了。

美国驻利雅得大使馆表示“已注意到袭击事件”，并“强烈建议所有美国公民避开该机场及周边地区”。

沙特阿拉伯于2015年领导阿拉伯联军介入也门战争，试图将胡塞武装逐出也门首都萨那。此前一年，胡塞武装攻占了萨那，将政府军驱逐出去。

这场战争陷入了血腥的僵局，数十万也门人死于战火和饥荒。沙特阿拉伯与胡塞武装达成了一项2022年协议，冻结了冲突。

夏季期间，停火协议破裂，最终胡塞武装发动闪电战，从沙特支持的政府军手中夺取了红海咽喉要道曼德海峡。

本周，沙特支持的也门政府开始发动攻势，试图夺回该地区，但迄今为止进展缓慢，与此同时，胡塞武装围困了也门第三大城市塔伊兹。

利雅得将举行重要峰会

航班追踪网站 flightradar24 显示，所有飞往利雅得的航班要么改道，要么取消，一度只有一架直升机在机场上空盘旋。

胡塞武装周四及本周早些时候发动的袭击已经导致多家航空公司暂停或取消飞往沙特首都的航班，而利雅得即将举办重要的能源和投资会议。

这些会议的组织者周六表示，会议将按计划进行，并试图让与会者放心，他们的安全不会受到威胁。