Saudi airport passenger terminal is struck again, a day after 12 were killed

A projectile struck a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, one day after a missile killed 12 people there. Saudi authorities said one Pakistani national was killed and 11 people were injured in the latest attack. The Houthis claimed responsibility, while Saudi-led forces and Houthi rebels exchanged further strikes. The escalation threatens regional aviation, oil supplies and shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The Riyadh airport had been struck four times in five days and remained closed after Saturday’s missile attack.

India’s embassy said one of its citizens died from injuries sustained in Saturday’s attack, potentially raising that death toll to 13.

Saudi authorities said King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was also attacked, but provided few details.

The Saudi-led coalition said it was running low on missile interceptors and had requested air-defense support from France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt.

Saudi Arabia and Iran said their foreign ministers spoke by phone, with Iran urging a political solution and offering to help begin a dialogue between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

Published Oct 12, 2026 2:06 pm KST

Updated Oct 12, 2026 3:19 pm KST

Surveillance footage shows people sitting in a waiting area reacting at the moment of an attack, in a location given as King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 10, in this frame from a handout video. Reuters-Yonhap

CAIRO — A projectile struck a passenger terminal at the international airport in Riyadh on Sunday, a day after a missile hit the same terminal and killed 12 people , the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen said. The Houthis claimed responsibility for those attacks and others.

Saudi authorities said one person, described as a Pakistani national, was killed, and 11 were injured in the latest attack on the domestic terminal complex at King Khalid International Airport.

The airport — struck four times in the past five days — has been closed since Saturday’s missile attack, which was the deadliest in a Gulf Arab nation since the Iran war began. Over 300 other people were wounded, some critically.

The sharp escalation in the war's new front threatens to draw in greater U.S. military involvement. President Donald Trump has said he is weighing joining the fight against the Houthis. There was no White House comment Sunday.

India’s embassy in Saudi Arabia said one of its citizens died Sunday of injuries sustained in Saturday’s attack, which would bring the toll to 13. Saudi authorities later said King Fahd International Airport in Dammam also was attacked, with few details. The city is on the Persian Gulf near Bahrain and Qatar.

The latest strike in Riyadh came shortly after the Houthis said the airport in the rebel-held Yemeni capital of Sanaa had been struck again, and blamed the Saudis. On Sunday night the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV channel reported further strikes on Sanaa, blaming Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has not commented on the strikes.

At stake, again, in this escalation are global supplies and prices of oil as well as commercial shipping through a crucial alternative waterway to the Iran-threatened Strait of Hormuz — along with civilians and aviation throughout the region.

Trump said he planned to speak to Saudi crown prince

There was no sign Sunday that Trump had followed up on plans to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has been seeking assistance against the war-hardened rebel group that is currently Iran's most dynamic proxy.

A U.S. intervention could prompt the Houthis to halt shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea off Yemen, further restricting the flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf. The rebels seized key areas along the strait last month. The Saudi-led coalition, backing forces with Yemen's internationally recognized government, has been trying to seize them back.

The rebels' strikes against Saudi airports, oil infrastructure and military facilities highlight a problem. The kingdom is running low on missile interceptors and has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air defense support to the region, regional officials told The Associated Press last month, with one noting that the U.S. has seen its own stock dwindle during the Iran war.

Some airlines have suspended flights serving Saudi airports, and some embassies have cautioned citizens about the risks of using them, after multiple Houthi warnings about the rebels' use of Saudi airspace.

Sunday’s attack occurred as the Saudis hosted a major international energy conference in Riyadh, with other high-profile events including an investment gathering on the horizon. Saudi Arabia under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has sought to open more to the world as a business and tourism destination, but the Houthi attacks threaten those efforts.

“There is no way that somebody will break our back. We are like a phoenix, we come out of the ashes all the time,” the Saudi energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, told the conference.

He added that the kingdom is also working on pipelines in addition to the East-West one that was attacked and closed for days last month, with no details.

The toll rises on both sides

Earlier on Sunday, the Houthi-run health ministry said a child was killed and six people wounded in a suspected Saudi airstrike on a house in Sanaa. The ministry also said 91 Yemenis have been killed by the Saudi-led coalition in five weeks, 60% of them women and children.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities on the claims, as fighting in Yemen surges after a major military offensive was launched against the Houthis a week ago.

Inside Saudi Arabia, identities emerged for some of those killed in Saturday's attack in Riyadh, including an Egyptian flight attendant and a Syrian widow living in the kingdom.

The government has previously said the dead also include four Saudi citizens, as well as two Bangladeshi nationals, one Palestinian, one American, one Jordanian and one Sudanese national.

Early Monday, Saudi Arabia released videos of the moment of the strike captured by security cameras. They show people, many dressed in the white robes of Mecca-bound pilgrims, standing in line in a busy hall, while others scroll phones in a nearby seating area before a fireball erupts, following by people throwing themselves to the floor and running for safety.

An expert says the Houthis' tactics could backfire

The Houthis until recently had been largely on the Iran war’s sidelines. They have developed their military capabilities in recent years to become one of Tehran’s most powerful allies. Now they're pressuring its regional rival and a key U.S. ally.

Late Sunday, Saudi Arabia and Iran said their foreign ministers had spoken by phone. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he warned against insisting on a military approach and ignoring a political solution, and said Tehran was ready to help start a dialogue between the Saudis and the Houthis.

The Saudis and Houthis began fighting in 2015, when the kingdom entered Yemen’s civil war on behalf of the government. Relative calm after a 2022 ceasefire ended in July when the Houthis resumed attacks, saying the Saudis fired on the Sanaa airport as a plane from Iran was trying to land.

The attack revived anger over the Saudi-led blockade that has largely isolated Houthi-run areas. The rebels declared a blockade on Saudi Arabia.

Now the Saudi-led coalition is providing air support for Yemeni government forces attempting to reverse Houthi territorial gains.

But the rebels' pressure tactics could backfire, said Ahmed Nagi, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Yemen: “Rather than pushing Riyadh to step back, attacks on critical Saudi infrastructure could make the Saudis more determined to continue the campaign.”

周日，一枚炮弹击中了利雅得哈立德国王国际机场的一座客运航站楼。此前一天，该机场曾遭导弹袭击，造成12人死亡。沙特当局称，最新袭击造成一名巴基斯坦公民死亡，11人受伤。胡塞武装声称对此次袭击负责，而沙特领导的联军和胡塞武装随后又进行了交火。局势升级威胁到区域航空、石油供应以及经由曼德海峡的航运。

利雅得机场在五天内遭到四次袭击，并在周六的导弹袭击后仍然关闭。

印度大使馆表示，一名印度公民在周六的袭击中受伤身亡，死亡人数可能上升至 13 人。

沙特当局表示，达曼的法赫德国王国际机场也遭到袭击，但未提供更多细节。

沙特领导的联军表示，其导弹拦截器数量不足，并已请求法国、英国、巴基斯坦和埃及提供防空支持。

沙特阿拉伯和伊朗表示，两国的外交部长通了电话，伊朗敦促寻求政治解决方案，并表示愿意帮助沙特阿拉伯和胡塞武装展开对话。

发布于2026年10月12日下午2:06（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年10月12日下午3:19（韩国标准时间）

监控录像显示，10月10日，在沙特阿拉伯利雅得哈立德国王国际机场，候机区内有人在袭击发生时做出反应。这段视频截图来自路透社/韩联社。

开罗——沙特阿拉伯领导的联军周日表示，一枚炮弹击中了利雅得国际机场的一个客运航站楼。此前一天，同一航站楼也遭到导弹袭击，造成12人死亡。胡塞武装声称对这些袭击及其他袭击事件负责。

沙特当局称，在哈立德国王国际机场国内航站楼发生的最新袭击事件中，一名被描述为巴基斯坦籍的人员死亡，另有 11 人受伤。

该机场在过去五天内四次遭到袭击，自周六导弹袭击以来一直关闭。此次袭击是自伊朗战争爆发以来海湾阿拉伯国家遭遇的最致命袭击，另有300多人受伤，其中一些人伤势严重。

战争新战线的急剧升级有可能将美国进一步卷入其中。唐纳德·特朗普总统曾表示，他正在考虑加入打击胡塞武装的战斗。白宫周日未对此发表评论。

印度驻沙特阿拉伯大使馆周日表示，一名印度公民因周六袭击事件中受伤，不幸去世，死亡人数上升至13人。沙特当局随后表示，达曼的法赫德国王国际机场也遭到袭击，但未透露更多细节。达曼位于波斯湾沿岸，毗邻巴林和卡塔尔。

在胡塞武装声称也门首都萨那机场再次遭到袭击并指责沙特阿拉伯之后不久，利雅得也遭到了最新一次袭击。周日晚间，胡塞武装控制的马西拉电视台报道了萨那再次遭到袭击，并指责沙特阿拉伯。沙特阿拉伯尚未对此发表评论。

此次局势升级再次危及全球石油供应和价格，以及通过一条重要的替代水道（可绕过受伊朗威胁的霍尔木兹海峡）的商业航运，以及整个地区的平民和航空安全。

特朗普表示，他计划与沙特王储通话。

周日没有任何迹象表明特朗普已落实与沙特王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼会谈的计划。穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼一直在寻求帮助，以对抗这个身经百战的叛军组织，该组织目前是伊朗最活跃的代理人。

美国若介入，可能促使胡塞武装封锁也门红海南端曼德海峡，进一步限制波斯湾石油出口。上个月，胡塞武装占领了海峡沿岸的关键区域。由沙特领导的联军支持也门国际公认政府的武装力量，一直在努力夺回这些区域。

叛军对沙特机场、石油基础设施和军事设施的袭击凸显了一个问题。沙特的导弹拦截器数量正在减少，并已请求法国、英国、巴基斯坦和埃及向该地区部署防空支援。地区官员上个月告诉美联社，其中一位官员指出，美国自身的防空储备也在两伊战争期间大幅减少。

在胡塞武装多次警告沙特方面使用沙特领空之后，一些航空公司暂停了飞往沙特机场的航班，一些大使馆也警告公民使用这些航班存在风险。

周日的袭击事件发生之际，沙特阿拉伯正在利雅得举办一场重要的国际能源会议，此外，包括一场投资峰会在内的其他重要活动也即将举行。在王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼的领导下，沙特阿拉伯一直致力于进一步向世界开放，使其成为商业和旅游目的地，但胡塞武装的袭击威胁着这些努力。

“没有人能击垮我们。我们就像凤凰一样，总能浴火重生，”沙特能源大臣阿卜杜勒阿齐兹·本·萨勒曼·阿勒沙特亲王在会议上表示。

他还补充说，除了上个月遭到袭击并关闭数日的东-西输油管道外，沙特王国还在建设其他输油管道，但没有透露更多细节。

双方伤亡人数都在上升

周日早些时候，胡塞武装控制的卫生部表示，在萨那一处民宅疑似遭到沙特空袭，造成一名儿童死亡，六人受伤。该部还表示，在过去五周内，已有91名也门人被沙特领导的联军杀害，其中60%是妇女和儿童。

沙特当局尚未就这些说法发表评论，此前一周，沙特对胡塞武装发动了大规模军事攻势，也门战事愈演愈烈。

在沙特阿拉伯境内，周六利雅得袭击事件中一些遇难者的身份已经确认，其中包括一名埃及空乘人员和一名居住在沙特的叙利亚寡妇。

政府此前表示，死者中还包括四名沙特公民，以及两名孟加拉国国民、一名巴勒斯坦人、一名美国人、一名约旦人和一名苏丹人。

周一清晨，沙特阿拉伯公布了监控录像记录的袭击瞬间。视频显示，许多人身着前往麦加朝圣的白色长袍，在熙熙攘攘的大厅里排队等候，而其他人则在附近的休息区低头玩手机。随后，一个火球突然爆发，人们纷纷倒地，四散奔逃。

一位专家表示，胡塞武装的策略可能会适得其反。

胡塞武装此前在两伊战争中基本处于边缘地位。近年来，他们迅速发展军事能力，成为德黑兰最强大的盟友之一。如今，他们正向其地区对手、美国的重要盟友施压。

周日晚些时候，沙特阿拉伯和伊朗表示，两国的外交部长已通电话。伊朗外长阿巴斯·阿拉格奇表示，他警告沙特不要坚持军事手段而忽视政治解决途径，并表示德黑兰愿意帮助沙特和胡塞武装启动对话。

沙特阿拉伯和胡塞武装的冲突始于2015年，当时沙特王国代表也门政府介入也门内战。2022年达成的停火协议带来了相对平静，但7月份胡塞武装恢复袭击，称沙特向萨那机场开火，当时一架伊朗飞机正试图降落。

此次袭击再次引发了人们对沙特领导的封锁的愤怒，这场封锁已基本将胡塞武装控制的地区与外界隔绝。胡塞武装随后宣布对沙特阿拉伯实施封锁。

现在，沙特领导的联军正在为也门政府军提供空中支援，以扭转胡塞武装取得的领土胜利。

但国际危机组织也门问题高级分析师艾哈迈德·纳吉表示，叛军的施压策略可能会适得其反：“袭击沙特关键基础设施非但不会迫使利雅得让步，反而可能使沙特更加坚定地继续这场战役。”