{"id":837680,"date":"2026-10-12T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T19:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=837680"},"modified":"2026-10-12T15:10:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T19:10:17","slug":"houthi-riyadh-airport-bab-el-mandeb-fighting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/837680","title":{"rendered":"New strike hits Riyadh airport a day after Houthi attack killed 13, as Saudi-backed forces fight around Bab el-Mandeb"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A frame from security camera footage of the October 10, 2026, strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, shared by Channel 4 News on X. Mereja could not independently verify the footage. (Image: Channel 4 News via X)<\/em><\/p>\n

A fresh strike hit Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, killing one person and wounding 11 others.<\/p>\n

The attack came a day after a Houthi-claimed strike on the same airport killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, Reuters reported, in a story carried by Channel News Asia. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said the person killed on Sunday was a Pakistani resident, AFP reported. The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said an unidentified projectile hit Terminal 4 and sparked a fire, and that air defenses intercepted a missile nearby. The airport remains closed, and a Notice to Airmen issued on Monday keeps it shut until 2100 GMT on October 17, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n

Saturday’s attack was the deadliest on Saudi soil in more than a decade. The dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and one person each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan, the civil aviation authority said. An Indian citizen later died of wounds, India’s embassy said, bringing Saturday’s toll to 13. Channel 4 News shared CCTV footage on X showing the moment a missile struck as Umrah pilgrims lined up at a gate. Witnesses described chaos, with people running while carrying the injured.<\/p>\n

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack in a televised speech on Sunday and said the group had also struck Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport and two Saudi Aramco facilities. The Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed damage assessments at Dammam. An eyewitness aboard a taxiing aircraft there told Reuters they saw a projectile hit the tarmac beside parked aircraft and start a fire. The Houthis renewed a warning against using Saudi airports and said Saudi Arabia bears responsibility for any failed interceptions. Early on Monday the coalition said it had intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile headed for Khamis Mushait, home to a major military base. On Monday evening the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported, and Saudi Civil Defense said the danger in the capital had passed. The Houthis claimed the missile struck King Khalid International Airport.<\/p>\n

The air war is tied to the fight for Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb strait. AFP reported that Saudi-supported government forces were advancing in a counter-offensive against the Houthis around Bab el-Mandeb, a key shipping route, according to military sources speaking on Saturday. The Houthis claimed to have repelled them. Claims by both sides have been impossible to independently verify, AFP said, because the situation is moving fast and access for journalists is difficult. By Monday afternoon, pro-government forces led by the Southern Giants Brigades said they had cut the main road linking the Red Sea port of Mocha with Bab el-Mandeb, Al Jazeera reported. Saudi Arabia has stepped up strikes in Yemen after the Houthis seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month. The Houthis said Saudi Arabia carried out 124 air strikes in Yemen in the past 24 hours and warned that “worse is yet to come” unless Riyadh stops what they call aggression and interference.<\/p>\n

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Saudi counterpart that insisting on a military approach would further complicate the situation, and that Tehran was ready to help start dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, Iranian state media said. US President Donald Trump said he was considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis. Britain advised citizens against all but essential travel to Jeddah, Dammam and Saudi airports except Medina. US aviation authorities told US airlines to use caution while flying to or over the kingdom. Australia condemned the attacks and urged citizens in Saudi Arabia to stay indoors.<\/p>\n

Thomas Juneau, a security analyst at the University of Ottawa, told AFP that Saudi air defenses have intercepted some Houthi missiles and drones, but that the kingdom is so large that consistent defense is impossible. He said the Houthis now “want to do to Saudi Arabia what Saudi Arabia does to them.” Wall Street Journal reporting cited by accounts on X said Saudi Arabia is running low on interceptor missiles and is seeking help from Pakistan and others.<\/p>\n

Mereja reported earlier this week that Yemeni forces had advanced around Bab el-Mandeb but that the strait was not fully secured. Shipping through the southern Red Sea remains under elevated risk while the ground fight and the air campaign continue.<\/p>\n

Saudi schools in Riyadh shifted to remote learning from Sunday until Thursday, authorities said. A five-day WPC Energy conference still opened about 10 kilometers from the airport, and an International Energy Forum ministerial meeting went ahead, though some foreign ministers joined by video or sought early return flights, Channel News Asia reported.<\/p>\n

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