Houthi Strikes on Saudi Airports Kill Three and Wound 36, Saudi Officials Say; Riyadh Flights Gutted

The Houthi campaign against Saudi Arabia has now produced confirmed civilian deaths. The Saudi aviation authority said three civilians were killed in Thursday's attacks on Abha and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

The casualties

The aviation authority said a Moroccan and an Algerian national living in Abha were killed in the strike there. A Sudanese national living in Riyadh was killed at King Khalid. Saudi officials put the wounded at 28 in Abha and eight in Riyadh, for 36 injured in total.

Saudi civil defense said shrapnel from a missile intercepted near Riyadh fell on a kindergarten and a medical clinic. Both suffered "material damage."

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the Riyadh attack in a statement Thursday morning and later announced three separate attacks on the airport. They did not immediately claim the Abha strike.

Aircraft hit at Riyadh

Three people briefed on the incident told Reuters that a Saudi Arabian Airlines plane parked at a terminal was heavily damaged by fire. They said the cause was believed to be shrapnel or a direct projectile hit. The aircraft was believed to be empty of passengers, though injuries could not be ruled out.

Two sources told AFP the damage was worse than one plane. One said at least one aircraft suffered catastrophic damage. The other said three planes were struck. The accounts do not match. Video circulating on social media showed smoke over the airport, but it could not be independently verified.

Flights collapse

Flightradar24 data showed 324 flights, 41% of all scheduled flights at King Khalid, canceled as of 10:10 a.m. ET Thursday. Another 188 flights, about 24%, were delayed. The airport told passengers to contact their airlines and confirm their flight status before heading to the airport.

Lufthansa suspended Riyadh flights until Oct. 16. Air India suspended them until Oct. 10, and IndiGo canceled Riyadh flights until Oct. 9.

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued a security alert urging Americans across the Middle East to exercise heightened vigilance. It warned of possible flight disruptions and a rapid escalation in hostilities between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

The Saudi response

Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said coalition forces intercepted several ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh and Khamis Mushait. He said the coalition also destroyed a Houthi missile launch platform near Sanaa.

Maliki said a "comprehensive operation" has destroyed 82 targets in recent days. He listed ballistic missile storage facilities, command-and-control centers, communications systems and Houthi rally points. He vowed the attacks "will not go unpunished."

The Gulf Cooperation Council called the strikes "terrorist attacks" and a "serious escalation." Egypt, Syria and the Muslim World League also condemned them. Bahrain called the strikes "criminal" and said they jeopardize the lives of passengers and airport employees. Jordan called them a violation of Saudi sovereignty.

The wider war

The Houthis have attacked Saudi Arabia repeatedly since July, after declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh. On Sept. 19, they claimed missile and drone attacks on "sensitive" sites in the Saudi capital and an Aramco facility in Yanbu, saying it was a response to an attack in Sanaa.

The fighting is a new front in the wider conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February. President Donald Trump has rejected Saudi requests for direct U.S. military intervention against the Houthis.

Washington is pressing Iran by other means. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the department is sanctioning 10 entities, six individuals and five vessels involved in trade of Iranian-origin petroleum or petrochemical products. Treasury, led by Secretary Scott Bessent, is separately sanctioning 17 entities and vessels tied to Iran's shadow fleet. CENTCOM said earlier this week that it has redirected 130 ships since its blockade of Iranian ports began and destroyed 13 ships it said violated the blockade or were part of the IRGC's shadow network.

The open question is how long the disruption at Riyadh's main airport lasts. Flight cancellations at King Khalid were already at 41% on Thursday. Lufthansa's suspension runs to Oct. 16, and any extension of that date or similar moves by other carriers will show how long the disruption continues.