Houthi Missile and Drone Strikes Kill at Least 20 at Saudi Airports

What happened

Between October 6 and 12, 2026, the Houthi movement in Yemen launched a series of ballistic missile and one-way attack drone strikes on three Saudi Arabian airports: King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Abha International Airport, and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, according to Al Jazeera's reporting and a Wikipedia summary of the attacks. Saudi authorities said the strikes killed at least 20 people in total and wounded more than 370, according to the Wikipedia compilation of Saudi statements on each incident.

The strikes repeatedly forced the temporary suspension of flight operations at King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh's main gateway, Al Jazeera reported. One attack on October 8 destroyed a Saudia Airlines Airbus A320 on the ground, according to the Wikipedia summary of the attacks.

A week of strikes, airport by airport

The October 10 strike was the deadliest. Al Jazeera, citing Saudi officials, reported 12 dead and more than 300 wounded shortly after the attack, including four Saudi nationals and victims from Bangladesh, the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. Later accounts, including the Wikipedia summary of the event, put the toll at 13 after an additional victim died of injuries. Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said operations at King Khalid International Airport were suspended while officials assessed the damage, according to Al Jazeera.

Houthi statement and Saudi response

A Houthi military spokesperson said the group had launched a ballistic missile at King Khalid Airport and that it had hit its intended target, disrupting air traffic, Al Jazeera reported. Houthi officials also said they had declared Saudi airspace a military operations zone and warned airlines to avoid it except over Mecca and Medina, according to Al Jazeera's coverage of the October 10 strike. A Houthi official, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, described the attacks as retaliation for Saudi strikes on civilian infrastructure in Yemen, per the Wikipedia account of the group's statements.

The Saudi-led coalition's spokesperson, Turki al-Maliki, called the October 10 strike "a full-fledged war crime" and "a cowardly terrorist attack," according to the Wikipedia summary of the attacks. Earlier in the week, he said attacks on civilians "will be met with resolve," Al Jazeera reported.

World leaders condemned the attacks. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was "deeply shocked" and called the strikes a violation of international law, according to Al Jazeera. Governments including Egypt, Qatar, Pakistan, Jordan, Oman, India, Japan, Canada, Malaysia and Australia issued condemnations. U.S. President Donald Trump called the attack "terrible" and said his administration would evaluate joining Saudi Arabia's military response to the Houthis, Al Jazeera reported.

Why Saudi air defenses struggled to stop the strikes

Saudi Arabia opened an investigation into why its air-defense systems failed to intercept the October 10 attack, PBS NewsHour reported. Unnamed regional officials told PBS that the Houthis used multiple drones to draw attention ahead of a mix of cruise and ballistic missiles, some of which traveled more than 1,000 kilometers and carried warheads capable of changing direction mid-flight, complicating interception by Saudi Patriot batteries and other defense systems.

Saudi leadership has sought greater U.S. involvement in countering the Houthi strikes, though Washington has so far limited its role to intelligence sharing and planning rather than direct military action, according to PBS.