Houthi Missile Hits Riyadh Airport Again, Killing One and Raising Weekly Death Toll to 18

A projectile struck a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, killing one person and injuring 11 others, Saudi civil aviation authorities reported. The victim was a Pakistani resident. The strike caused a fire in Terminal 4.

The attack came one day after a missile strike on the same airport complex killed 13 people and wounded 309, according to the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation. Saturday's dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, one American, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian and one Sudanese. Sunday's incident brought the week's death toll at the airport to 18.

Yemen's Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the Saturday attack. Military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised statement that the group also struck Dammam airport and two Saudi Aramco facilities. The Houthis have warned airlines against using Saudi airspace, describing it as a zone of military operations after the Yemeni government began an offensive against them.

Saudi-led coalition forces said air defenses intercepted a missile near the airport on Sunday. Authorities extended the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport until at least Monday night local time to verify the safety of facilities. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or diverted. A notice to air missions indicated possible closure until October 17.

The strikes mark the deadliest attacks on Saudi soil in more than a decade. They form part of an escalation in the Yemen conflict that has intensified amid the wider Iran war. The Houthis, aligned with Iran, have increased missile and drone attacks on Saudi targets in recent weeks. The Houthi-run health ministry in Sanaa has reported 91 Yemenis killed and 168 injured in five weeks of Saudi-led strikes.

President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he was considering whether the United States would join Saudi strikes against the Houthis. Saudi officials have vowed a firm response. Regional officials said Saudi Arabia launched an investigation into how air defenses failed to stop the barrage that hit the airport on Saturday.

The airport serves a city of roughly eight million people and is a major hub for pilgrims traveling to Mecca and Medina. Footage from Saturday showed passengers, including some heading to holy sites, scrambling as part of a ceiling collapsed after the blast. Security camera video released later captured the moment of impact.

Travel warnings have followed. The U.S. State Department urged extreme caution at Saudi airports. Australia and others issued similar advisories. Conferences scheduled in Riyadh have seen some oil executives drop from agendas, though some events continued.

Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said the U.S. response to Tehran's seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz was insufficient. He stated Iran was no longer in the process of responding to the Americans. The Hormuz blockade and related naval incidents continue to disrupt shipping.

The combination of airport closures, energy infrastructure risks and ongoing hostilities has pushed oil prices higher. Brent crude has traded above $100 at times amid doubts about supply. Saudi Arabia's ability to maintain civilian aviation and energy exports now faces direct tests from the Houthi campaign.

Questions remain about the durability of any Saudi response and whether U.S. involvement would widen the conflict further. The airport's reopening depends on damage assessments that authorities have not yet completed.