Saudi-led coalition says new attack at Riyadh airport causes fire, day after strike kills 13

Saturday's strike killed 12, wounded over 300; Riyadh airport remains closed

The death toll from Saturday's Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh rose to 13 after an Indian national succumbed to his injuries on Sunday, the Indian Embassy said.

In a statement on Facebook, the embassy said an Indian citizen injured in the Oct. 10 attack "has unfortunately lost his life today."

The embassy expressed condolences to the victim's family and said it was in contact with them.

It also pledged full support to ensure the prompt repatriation of his remains to India.

Earlier, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said an "unidentified projectile" had targeted Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, causing a fire, hours after the Iran-backed Houthis warned airlines and travellers to stay away from Saudi airports.

The coalition also said Saudi air defences had intercepted a cruise missile in the vicinity of King Khalid International Airport. No further details were immediately available.

The airport remains closed after an attack there on Saturday killed 12 people and wounded more than 300 others, the deadliest such strike on the kingdom in over a decade, amid an escalation of fighting between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces.

Despite the airport's temporary closure, the Saudi Energy Ministry said a long-planned international energy conference was still going ahead in Riyadh on Sunday.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said Sunday's projectile had targeted Terminal 4 of the airport, without elaborating.

Earlier, the Houthis had said in a statement on X:

"We renew our warning to all airlines, experts, employees, workers and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace, as they are vulnerable to attack and have become a theatre of operations for our forces, with the exception of the airports in (the holy cities of) Mecca and Medina."

"We urge everyone to take our warnings seriously, and Saudi Arabia bears responsibility for any failed interceptions."

'Worse is yet to come,' Houthis warn

Saudi Arabia has stepped up its military involvement in Yemen in recent weeks, launching strikes against the Houthis and backing a Yemeni government counteroffensive after the group seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.

Yemen's Houthi-run foreign ministry said later on Sunday that further Saudi military action in Yemen would trigger a stronger response, adding that its actions would be guided by the principle of reciprocity.

"Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come, God willing," the ministry said in statements carried by Houthi-run Al Masirah television.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States was considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis in the conflict, a spillover from the wider war on Iran that the US and Israel launched in February.

Earlier, Saudi authorities notified parents that in-person classes would be suspended and shifted to remote learning from Sunday until Thursday for all students, teachers and administrative staff.

In Saturday's attack, the third on Riyadh's airport in a week, the 12 dead included 4 Saudis, 2 Bangladeshis and nationals of the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, Saudi authorities said.

Four people were killed in the two previous attacks on the airport earlier in the week. One of the attacks also caused heavy damage to a Saudi commercial plane parked on the tarmac.

Yemen's Houthis warned airlines, travellers and airport workers on Sunday to stay away from Saudi airports, a day after an attack on Riyadh's international airport killed 12 people and wounded more than 300 others.

It was the deadliest such attack in the kingdom in more than a decade and comes amid an escalation of fighting between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.

"We renew our warning to all airlines, experts, employees, workers and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace, as they are vulnerable to attack and have become a theatre of operations for our forces, with the exception of the airports in (the holy cities of) Makkah and Madinah," the Houthis said in a post on X.

القوات المسلحة اليمنية تجدد تحذيرها لكل الشركات الملاحية الجوية والخبراء والموظفين والعاملين والمسافرين من استخدام المطارات والأجواء السعودية لأنها معرضة للاستهداف ومسرحا للعمليات من قبل قواتنا باستثناء مطاري مكة المكرمة والمدينة المنورة.
وتهيب بالجميع لأخذ تحذيراتنا على محمل…

— العميد/ يحيى سريع (@Yah_Saree) October 11, 2026

"We urge everyone to take our warnings seriously, and Saudi Arabia bears responsibility for any failed interceptions."

Saudi Arabia has stepped up its military involvement in Yemen in recent weeks, launching strikes against the Houthis and backing a Yemeni government counteroffensive after the group seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.

Yemen's Houthi-run foreign ministry said on Sunday that further Saudi military action in Yemen would trigger a stronger response, adding that its actions would be guided by the principle of reciprocity.

"Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come, God willing," the ministry said in statements carried by Houthi-run Al Masirah television.

Saudi Arabia has confirmed at least 12 people were killed and more than 300 injured after Houthi fighters struck Riyadh International Airport with a ballistic missile on Saturday.

Al Jazeera's Jama Noor Ahmed reports from Riyadh that it marks a dangerous escalation. pic.twitter.com/W8q68jmVsO

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 11, 2026

President Donald Trump said on Saturday the United States was considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis in the conflict, a spillover from the wider war on Iran that the US and Israel launched in February.

The Saudi-led coalition said on Saturday that a projectile had also fallen near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in the kingdom's Eastern Province. The coalition also reported intercepting a drone in the region on Sunday.

Conflict escalates after Yemen war ceasefire unravels

The two previous attacks on King Khalid International Airport this week killed ⁠four and caused heavy damage to a Saudi commercial plane parked on the tarmac. The strikes have exposed vulnerabilities in Saudi defence capabilities as it wages an air campaign against the ​Houthis to support a ground war by the Yemeni government against the group.

Read: Saudi-led coalition announces large-scale operation against Houthis in Yemen, says 136 military targets destroyed

The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Trump, asked ​whether the US planned to join Saudi strikes on the Houthis, told reporters: "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."

President Donald Trump says the US ‘may’ join Saudi strikes against Yemen’s Houthis following the latest attack on Riyadh airport.

Trump made the comments before Saudi authorities confirmed 12 people were killed and more than 300 were injured in that attack. pic.twitter.com/NJigbP8DSS

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 11, 2026

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attacks on the airport, saying they "demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life".

The United States strongly condemns the recent attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the terrorist Houthis, including today’s strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that took numerous innocent lives, including an American citizen.

These reprehensible attacks…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) October 10, 2026

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned Saturday's strike, reiterating that attacks on civilians and ​civilian infrastructure violate international law and must cease immediately.

I am deeply shocked by & strongly condemn Saturday’s lethal attack by the Houthis on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which reportedly killed 12 people & injured hundreds of civilians.

Attacks on civilians & civilian infrastructure are a violation of…

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 11, 2026

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.

The Saudis 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 war became a bloody stalemate, with hundreds of thousands of Yemenis killed by fighting and famine.

A 2022 ceasefire reached by the Saudis and the Houthis unravelled this summer, culminating in a lightning Houthi advance that took the Red Sea chokepoint of Bab el-Mandeb from Saudi-backed government forces.

Explosion, people on ground, ambulances rushing

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

On Saturday, all flights were diverted from Riyadh ​and operations at the airport that serves a ​city of 8 million people were suspended, ⁠the Saudi civil aviation authority said.

The head of the Houthi media office posted on X 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.

Read More: US voices concern over Houthi escalation, condemns attacks on Saudi Arabia

The Houthis have warned international airlines against operating ​flights through Saudi airspace, saying it has become a theatre of their military operations, except airspace over the holy ​cities of Makkah and Madina.

An ⁠eyewitness at the airport 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 US embassy ⁠in Riyadh said ​it "strongly recommends all US citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas."

Earlier Houthi attacks had 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. Organisers of those conferences said ahead of the strikes on Saturday they would go ahead as planned.

International energy conference still going ahead in Riyadh

Saturday's attack has forced the temporary closure of King Khalid International Airport, but the Saudi energy ministry said a long-planned international energy conference was still going ahead in Riyadh on Sunday.

The five-day WPC Energy Congress is taking place at a convention centre some 10 km (6 miles) from the airport. State TV said more than 70 ministers, 300 company executives and representatives of over 25 international energy organisations have confirmed their attendance.

It was not immediately clear whether the participants would attend in person or virtually.

A ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum is also set to go ahead on Sunday, with its plenary session to be held behind closed doors, according to a media advisory. No further details were immediately available.

Separately, Saudi authorities notified parents that in-person classes would be suspended and shifted to remote learning from Sunday until Thursday for all students, teachers and administrative staff.

Yemen's govt-aligned forces say they destroyed 5 Houthi military vehicles in Taiz

Yemen’s government-aligned forces said they destroyed five armoured military vehicles belonging to the Houthi group while repelling an attempted advance toward Dhubab Airport in Yemen's western Taiz province.

In a late Saturday statement released on US social media platform Facebook, the Giants Brigades said their forces "destroyed five Houthi armoured vehicles, killing those aboard."

The operation took place as the Houthis made a "desperate attempt” to advance toward Dhubab Airport on the western coast, the statement noted.

The brigades also released a video clip purportedly documenting the moment the vehicles were targeted, showing flames rising from them.

The Houthis did not immediately comment on the statement.

Malaysian premier denounces Houthi attack on Riyadh airport

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Sunday "unequivocally denounced" the Yemeni Houthi group's attack targeting the main airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh, which claimed at least 12 lives and injured more than 300 others.

"There can be no justification for attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure," he said on US social media company X.

I unequivocally denounce the attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which has taken innocent lives and left hundreds injured. I extend my deepest condolences to the families of those killed and wish the injured a swift recovery.

There can be no justification for… pic.twitter.com/pxzE9OH7Q0

— Anwar Ibrahim (@anwaribrahim) October 11, 2026

Anwar said that putting innocent lives at risk "can only deepen the suffering already wrought by this conflict and carry it into places that should remain beyond its reach."

He also said Malaysia stands in solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its people "at this perilous hour," and that Kuala Lumpur remains "steadfast in our hope that diplomacy and reason will prevail before the conflict widens still further."

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters also condemned the recent attacks on the airport and across Saudi Arabia, while expressing solidarity with Saudi Arabians and the Saudi Arabian government.