'Worst is yet to come:' Houthis claim responsibility for strikes on Saudi airports

OCTOBER 12, 2026 04:02Updated: OCTOBER 12, 2026 04:16One person was killed, and nearly a dozen were hurt in a new attack on Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen said an unidentified projectile had targeted Riyadh's international airport Terminal 4 on Sunday, causing a fire. Eleven people were wounded in addition to the fatality, the Saudi civil aviation authority said.Coalition forces also said Saudi air defenses had intercepted a cruise missile in the vicinity of King Khalid International Airport. They later added that a drone had been intercepted and destroyed in the country's Eastern Province, and a ballistic missile launched towards Khamis Mushait had been intercepted. Emergency alerts were also issued in Abha, in the south, early on Monday, but the danger had since passed, the Saudi Civil Defense said.The strikes have exposed vulnerabilities in Saudi defense capabilities as the kingdom wages an air campaign against the ​Houthis, who are fighting a ground war in Yemen against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.Footage released by Saudi state television of the Saturday attack on the Riyadh airport showed scores of religious pilgrims lined up at a gate as they prepared to travel to Islam's two holiest sites. A bright orange flash sent people running in panic, while parts of the roof appeared to cave in. The airport was closed after the attack, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade.Surveillance footage shows the moment of the attack at King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia Monday, 12th October 2026 (credit: SAUDI MINISTRY OF MEDIA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)Houthis claim responsibility for attacksIn a televised speech on Sunday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack and said the group had also struck the airport in Dammam in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province and two facilities of Saudi oil giant Saudi Aramco.The Saudi government's media office and Aramco did not respond to requests for comment.The Saudi civil aviation authority confirmed the strike on Dammam's King Fahd International Airport late on Sunday, adding that "damage assessments and safety inspections of airport facilities are under way."An eyewitness aboard a taxiing aircraft at Dammam told Reuters that around 8:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) on Sunday, they saw a projectile strike the tarmac beside several parked aircraft, causing a fire. The witness said the aircraft returned to the gate. Passengers disembarked and were told to leave.Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed several delays and cancellations on Sunday for arrivals and departures at Dammam airport, the kingdom's third-largest.The Houthis earlier on Sunday had ‌renewed their warning against ​using Saudi ​airports. "We urge everyone to take our warnings seriously, and Saudi Arabia bears responsibility for any failed interceptions," the group said.Britain's embassy in Saudi Arabia, in a post on X, advised British citizens against all but essential travel to Jeddah, Dammam and all airports in the kingdom except the airport in Medina.US aviation authorities issued a notice to US airlines to use caution while flying to or over the kingdom.'Worst is yet to come,' Houthis warnSaudi Arabia has recently stepped up its military involvement in Yemen, launching strikes against the Houthis and backing a government counteroffensive after the Houthis seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.The Houthis said on Sunday that Saudi Arabia carried out 124 air strikes in Yemen in the past 24 hours. "Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come, God willing," Yemen's Houthi-run foreign ministry said in statements carried by Al Masirah television.US 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 with Iran that the US and Israel launched in February.In a Telegram post, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said he told his Saudi counterpart that Tehran was ready to help facilitate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.Logo of 25th WPC Energy Congress next to Kingdom Tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Sunday, 11th October 2026 (credit: REUTERS)Energy conference going aheadA five-day conference of the international energy organization WPC Energy opened as planned on Sunday at a convention center about 10 km (6 miles) from the Riyadh airport, the Saudi energy ministry said.A ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum also went ahead, according to a media advisory from the ministry. It was not clear which ministers attended.Italy's energy minister, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, whose country was co-hosting, had said on Friday he would participate remotely via video link.German officials were trying to organize a return flight for economy minister Katherina Reiche. She was supposed to return to Berlin from Riyadh on Monday, but the ministry said her flight was likely unable to take off.Separately, Saudi authorities announced that schools in Riyadh would shift in-person classes to remote learning from Sunday until Thursday.Sunday's attack brought the death toll in attacks on Riyadh's airport to 18 for the week. In Saturday's attack, the dead included four Saudis while the remainder were foreign nationals, Saudi authorities said.Follow us on Google