Houthis Claim Missile Hit on Riyadh Airport, Saudi Coalition Says It Intercepted Two Missiles

Since Tuesday and Wednesday's strikes on Abha and Riyadh airports left three civilians dead and 36 wounded, the Houthis have turned back to the Saudi capital. Thursday, Oct. 8, brought booms across Riyadh, a claimed missile hit on the airport, and another round of flight disruptions.

What the Houthis claim, and what Riyadh says

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said forces targeted King Khalid International Airport "at midday with a ballistic missile that hit its target." No evidence has been offered.

The Saudi-led coalition tells a different story. Spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki said on X that forces intercepted two missiles fired at the capital. He also said the coalition destroyed a platform in Sanaa.

Saudi Civil Defense reported "material damage" to buildings from falling shrapnel after the interceptions. The agency said the debris damaged a children's nursery and a medical clinic in Riyadh. Riyadh has not released further information on damage or casualties, and the Saudi government did not respond to a request for comment.

Witnesses told the Associated Press they heard several explosions, saw smoke at the airport and watched fire and ambulance crews deploy. One witness said departing passengers were told to leave checked-in luggage and evacuate. Social media accounts are circulating footage they say shows a destroyed aircraft. Saudi authorities have not confirmed that.

Flightradar24 said the airport had "closed again," with the last landing more than 80 minutes before its post and the last takeoff more than 90 minutes before. The airport asked departing passengers to contact their airlines before heading to the terminal.

The week's toll

Saudi aviation authorities said the Abha attack killed a Moroccan woman and an Algerian woman and wounded 28 people. The attack on King Khalid killed a Sudanese national and wounded eight. Together that makes three dead and 36 injured. The Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation did not name a culprit. The coalition then blamed the Houthis and said the attacks "will not go unpunished."

The coalition said late Wednesday it had destroyed 82 Houthi military sites across Saada, Hodeidah, Jawf and Marib.

Several multinational firms in Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District told staff to work from home after Thursday's booms, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Diplomats were told to shelter in place at their embassies, and some international schools told parents of shelter orders. Authorities issued no public alert.

The Houthi position

The Houthis frame the campaign as a response. They say they are answering attacks from the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, which the government denies. Saree warned airlines "for the last time" to stop flying in Saudi airspace, calling it a "theater" for Houthi military operations. The group has repeated a threat to force the kingdom's airspace to close.

The Saudi-led coalition accuses Iran of arming and funding the Houthis. Iran and the Houthis deny it.

The ground war behind the strikes

The airport attacks follow a Saudi-backed ground and air offensive to retake territory the Houthis seized last month along Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Yemeni officials said forces recaptured several areas around the strait on Monday and reached Mokha. The Houthis dispute that. Fighting has since centered on Dhubab, about 54 kilometers (33.5 miles) south of Mokha.

The Houthis have gains of their own. They have surrounded Taiz, Yemen's third-largest city, by taking territory along its main mountain road to Aden. Early Wednesday, Houthi missiles also targeted Aden's airport, and local security authorities said there were no casualties.

The International Organization for Migration said Wednesday that more than 200,000 people have been displaced since the latest exchange of fire began in June.

The stakes reach beyond Yemen. The strait matters more to Gulf oil exports now that Iran has renewed attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The Houthis reportedly received direction from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to take Mokha, as TIME reported. The fighting is a front in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran that began Feb. 28.

Allies move in

Pakistan's military confirmed it has troops in Saudi Arabia. Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, head of the military's media wing, told CNN on Wednesday: "The forces of Pakistan are already there." He declined to give numbers or capabilities, calling them classified.

Chaudhry said Pakistan's commitment to Saudi security is "absolute." He described the new pact among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey, often called the Mecca Alliance, as a collective-defense arrangement where an attack on one member counts as an attack on all. He also said Pakistan has had a military presence in the kingdom for decades.

Reuters reported that Syria is now considering sending troops to help Saudi Arabia. The US Mission in Saudi Arabia updated its security alert, warning Americans the conflict "has the potential to escalate."

Saudi authorities have not said whether Thursday's missile struck airport property or whether the aircraft damage shown in circulating footage is real. Saree's deadline to airlines is the next test. If carriers pull out of Riyadh, the world's largest oil exporter's capital loses its main air link while the war in southwest Yemen is still undecided.