(The Turkish Post) – Houthi attacks hit Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport for the second day in a row on Sunday, Oct. 11, killing a Pakistani resident and injuring 11 people, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said, as the Yemeni group also claimed a strike on Dammam airport.
The latest Houthi attacks came a day after a missile strike on the same airport killed 13 people and wounded 309. Türkiye, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia issued a joint statement on Sunday that held the Houthis “fully accountable” and demanded an immediate end to the attacks.
Second Houthi attack on Riyadh airport in two days
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said a projectile struck Terminal 4 of King Khalid International Airport and started a fire. Saudi air defenses destroyed a cruise missile near the airport, the Saudi-led coalition said.
The civil aviation authority said the injured were taken to hospital and that the material damage to the airport was still being assessed. The airport has been closed since Saturday’s strike.
The Indian embassy said one of its citizens wounded in Saturday’s attack died on Sunday, raising the death toll from that strike to 13. Saudi authorities had earlier said the dead included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis and one person each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan.
Dammam airport targeted in Houthi attacks
The civil aviation authority said on Sunday evening that King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in the Eastern Province, had also come under attack. It said damage assessments and safety inspections were under way and gave no casualty figures.
The coalition said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a drone over the Eastern Province.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the strikes in a televised statement. He said the group hit Dammam airport and disrupted air traffic there, and also targeted King Khalid International Airport, the Shedgum gas plant of the state oil company Saudi Aramco and an Aramco oil facility in Tanajib. Saudi authorities have not confirmed any attack on the two Aramco sites.
Saree described the Houthi attacks as retaliation for Saudi air strikes on Yemen. The group said Saudi transit hubs were “a theater of operations for our forces” and threatened further attacks. Houthi-run media reported Saudi air strikes in Sanaa governorate on Sunday.
Joint statement by Türkiye, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia
The four countries, which call themselves the R4 Group, condemned “in the strongest terms the ongoing hostile attacks perpetrated by the Houthi militia against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” They called the attacks “a blatant violation of international law.”
The statement held the Houthis “fully accountable” for the consequences and called for an “immediate and unconditional” halt to the attacks. The four governments said they supported all legitimate measures Saudi Arabia takes to counter the attacks, deter threats and prevent them from happening again.
Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defense agreement in Mecca on Aug. 7. On Oct. 5, the three countries agreed to activate collective deterrence measures in response to the Houthi attacks. The coalition has promised a firm response to the missile strike on Riyadh airport on Saturday but has not said what form it will take.
Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers discuss the escalation
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, on Sunday, the Saudi foreign ministry said. The two discussed “the recent escalation in the region and the efforts being made to address it,” according to the ministry, which gave no further details.
Iran backs the Houthis. Riyadh and Tehran restored diplomatic relations in 2023 under an agreement brokered by China.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Washington was considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis. He has not announced a decision.
Travel warnings for Saudi airports
After the Houthi attacks on Riyadh, the United States and Australia were among the countries that told their citizens to avoid the city’s airport or reconsider travel to Saudi Arabia. Several airlines cancelled flights to Saudi cities.
The Houthis have repeatedly warned airlines, airport staff and passengers against using Saudi airports. Houthi attacks on Saudi airports earlier in the week killed three Saudi citizens, including a pilot of the national carrier, according to Saudi authorities.
Fighting inside Yemen has escalated since early October, when Saudi-backed government forces launched an offensive against the Houthis, and the United Nations envoy for Yemen told the Security Council on Oct. 9 that the country had returned to full-scale war.
The Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, and the Saudi-led coalition entered the war in March 2015 to support the internationally recognized government. A truce in 2022 largely halted Houthi cross-border strikes on Saudi Arabia until this month.
