Houthi Missile Strikes Kill 13 at Riyadh Airport as Saudi Coalition Vows Decisive Response

A missile struck Terminal 4 at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, October 10, 2026, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 300. Saudi authorities confirmed the dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and one citizen each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. India's embassy in Riyadh reported that one of its nationals injured in the attack died the next day, bringing the toll to 13.

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen called the strike a full-fledged war crime and said it would respond decisively under customary international humanitarian law. Coalition spokesman Major-General Turki al-Malki stated that the attack targeted civilian passengers and airport staff. Saudi civil aviation authorities suspended operations at the airport serving a city of about 8 million people. Flights were cancelled or diverted. Schools in Riyadh shifted to remote learning from Sunday until Thursday.

Yemen's Houthi movement claimed responsibility on Sunday through military spokesperson Yahya Saree. In a televised speech and posts, Saree said the group had carried out multiple operations against the airport. He also claimed strikes on the airport in Dammam in the Eastern Province and on two facilities of Saudi Aramco. The Houthis had previously claimed Thursday attacks on the same Riyadh airport that killed three people and damaged a parked Saudi commercial plane.

On Sunday, another projectile hit the complex for Terminals 3 and 4. Saudi authorities reported injuries from that strike and said air defences intercepted a missile nearby. The airport closure was extended by 24 hours. Multiple blasts were reported in the capital. The Sunday attack killed one Pakistani resident and wounded 11 others, according to the civil aviation authority.

This marks the deadliest attack on Saudi territory in more than a decade. Previous Houthi strikes on Saudi airports earlier in the week had killed four people. The campaign escalated after the ceasefire in Yemen unravelled. Saudi Arabia has conducted an air campaign to support the internationally recognised Yemeni government against the Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of the country.

US President Donald Trump described the Saturday attack as terrible. He said he would speak soon with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and was evaluating whether the United States would join Saudi strikes against the Houthis. "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," Trump told reporters. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that an American was among the dead and called for an end to the attacks.

Airlines suspended services to Saudi destinations. Oil executives pulled out of a planned energy congress in Riyadh. The strikes have exposed gaps in Saudi air defences despite years of investment in interceptors. The Houthis have used missiles and drones to reach deep into the kingdom since launching their current campaign this summer.

Saudi authorities said some of the wounded remained in critical condition and were receiving care at multiple hospitals. The Egyptian victim was identified as flight attendant Azza Ramzy of Flynas. A Syrian woman killed was a widowed mother living in the kingdom, according to a relative who spoke to the Associated Press.

The attacks fit a pattern of Houthi targeting of civilian aviation and energy infrastructure. Earlier this year the group struck other Saudi sites. The Saudi coalition has responded with airstrikes in Yemen, including one in Sanaa that killed a child and wounded seven. Fighting on the ground between Houthi forces and government-aligned troops has intensified in recent weeks.

International reaction was swift. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attack. Several governments issued statements of solidarity with Saudi Arabia. The disruption comes as global energy markets remain tight from other conflicts, including the war involving Iran that has affected the Strait of Hormuz.

Airport operations remained suspended into Monday. Authorities continued to assess structural damage at the terminal. The civil aviation authority said it was still calculating the full extent of injuries from the Sunday strike. Houthi warnings told airlines and passengers not to use Saudi airports, raising the prospect of further attacks if the coalition does not alter its air campaign.

The death of the Indian national was confirmed by the Indian embassy after the initial Saudi tally of 12. Pakistani media reported the Sunday fatality as a resident of the kingdom. No group immediately claimed the Sunday projectile separately, but the pattern points to the same actors.

For Saudi Arabia, the repeated strikes on its capital's main airport raise questions about the durability of its current strategy in Yemen. The coalition has destroyed launch platforms in the past, yet missiles continue to reach Riyadh. For the Houthis, the attacks demonstrate reach and the ability to impose costs on civilian infrastructure far from the front lines. Whether the promised decisive response changes that calculation remains open. The immediate effect is closed runways, diverted flights, remote classrooms, and a higher civilian death toll in a conflict that has already lasted more than a decade.