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Samy Magdy and Cara Anna
Updated October 11, 2026 — 9:25am,first published 9:08am
Cairo: The international airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, was attacked again on Saturday (Riyadh time) as the kingdom faces an extraordinary series of assaults in the new front of the Iran war, killing 12 people and wounding over 300 more.
US President Donald Trump said he was evaluating whether the US should join Saudi strikes against the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen.
Saudi authorities said the dead included four Saudi citizens as well as two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a US citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese. Some of those injured were in a critical condition.
US President Donald Trump said he was evaluating whether the US should join Saudi strikes against Houthi rebels.BloombergThe Houthis claimed attacks earlier in the week on King Khalid International Airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot. On Saturday, a missile struck a complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights.
“We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump said of intervening. “We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”
This image from video obtained and verified by AP shows thick black smoke and flames rising from a fire at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 9.APThe surge in attacks, including against other Saudi airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure, has come in the week since a Saudi-led coalition launched a major military offensive against the Houthis. There was no immediate statement from the rebels, who earlier on Saturday accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital.
Riyadh airport operations suspendedSaudi civil aviation authorities said airport operations were suspended and the extent of injuries and damage was being assessed. An official notice to aviators said the suspension was through to midnight. The airport had a heavy police presence, with all entrances blocked, and lights around the complex dimmed.
Flights have been diverted elsewhere, the Flightradar24 tracker said. Countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada have warned citizens to avoid the airport.
The attacks on Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, have rattled markets and the region. And yet hours after the latest one, the Saudi energy ministry was still promoting a major international energy conference set to begin in Riyadh on Sunday.
Fighting in Yemen between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces has escalated, with the Saudi-led coalition providing air support for government forces attempting to reverse recent Houthi gains along the Red Sea. Those gains gave the rebels better surveillance of shipping on a corridor that is a crucial alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been attacking ships.
Though the Houthis have told the AP and others they are only targeting Saudi shipping as part of a blockade in retaliation for one imposed on them, concerns about wider attacks persist. The Houthis previously attacked other ships after the war in Gaza began, calling it solidarity with Palestinians. A US bombing campaign sharply limited that.
Saudi Arabia low on interceptors, officials saySaudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air defence support to the region, regional officials told the AP last month, with one official noting that the US had seen its own stock dwindle during the war with Iran.
Officials said US assistance has included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the latest offensive against the Houthis.
On Saturday, Saudi Arabia said its foreign minister and Omani counterpart spoke by phone about the importance of “supporting diplomatic solutions to de-escalate tensions” in the region. Oman, which lies across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, has played a mediator role at times in the region.
Meanwhile, Saudi authorities warned the public this week that “filming, publishing or sharing information related to countering missiles and drones and their impact sites exposes you to legal liability”.
Flight disruptions are growingThe Houthis this week warned global airlines “for the last time” about the potential consequences of operating in Saudi airspace, which they described as a theatre for their military operations.
At least 291 flights at the Riyadh airport had been cancelled over the past 24 hours, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Before the latest attack, Air India, flydubai, Lufthansa Group and Pakistan International Airlines were among airlines suspending flights to and from Riyadh and other Saudi airports for varying periods.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency had expanded its guidance on Saudi airspace, noting the Houthis’ ability to strike targets deeper inside the kingdom, including Riyadh, and a “greater focus on aviation infrastructure”.
The missile and drone attacks and interception efforts “create an increased risk of misidentification of civil aircraft”, it said.
Two regional officials said Houthi attacks on the Riyadh airport on Thursday damaged three planes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to brief the media. The Saudi national carrier said one of its aircraft was damaged while it was on the ground, with no passengers on board.
AP
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