RIYADH, October 11, 2026 (DAILYNWZ) — Saudi Arabia reported new attacks on airports in Riyadh and Dammam on Sunday, a day after a strike on the capital’s international airport killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, raising security concerns as the kingdom intensifies its military campaign against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.
Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen said an unidentified projectile struck Terminal 4 at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, causing a fire. The civil aviation authority reported injuries but did not specify how many people were hurt. It said damage assessments were continuing.
Saudi air defences also intercepted a cruise missile near King Khalid International Airport, the coalition said. A drone was later intercepted and destroyed in the Eastern Province.
The latest attacks followed Saturday’s deadly strike, which forced Riyadh airport to close. Footage broadcast by Saudi state television showed religious pilgrims waiting at a departure gate when a bright flash prompted people to flee in panic. Parts of the terminal roof appeared to collapse.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack and several other strikes on Sunday. Their military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said the group had targeted King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and two facilities belonging to Saudi oil company Saudi Aramco. The Saudi government’s media office and Aramco did not respond to requests for comment.
Saudi aviation authorities confirmed the attack on Dammam airport late Sunday, saying inspections and damage assessments were under way.
A witness aboard an aircraft taxiing at the airport told Reuters that a projectile struck the tarmac near parked planes at about 8:30 p.m. local time, starting a fire. The aircraft returned to its gate, and passengers were told to disembark and leave. Flight-tracking data showed multiple delays and cancellations at the airport, Saudi Arabia’s third-largest.
The Houthis had earlier warned people against using Saudi airports, saying the kingdom would bear responsibility for failed interceptions. Britain’s embassy advised its citizens to avoid all but essential travel to Jeddah, Dammam and other Saudi airports, with Medina excluded from the warning. US aviation authorities also urged American airlines to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia.
The escalation comes as Saudi Arabia steps up air strikes in Yemen and supports a government counteroffensive after the Houthis seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month. The Houthis said Saudi forces had carried out 124 air strikes in Yemen over the previous 24 hours, warning that further escalation would follow unless Riyadh stopped its military involvement.
US President Donald Trump said Saturday that Washington was considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis. The conflict has spilled over from the wider war involving Iran, which the United States and Israel launched in February.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a Telegram post that he had told his Saudi counterpart Tehran was ready to help facilitate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Despite the attacks, a five-day conference organised by WPC Energy opened as scheduled in Riyadh on Sunday, at a convention centre about 10 kilometres from the airport. A ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum also went ahead, according to the Saudi energy ministry. The attendance of individual ministers was unclear.
Germany was seeking to arrange a return flight for Economy Minister Katherina Reiche, whose scheduled departure for Berlin on Monday appeared unlikely to proceed. Italy’s energy minister, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, had said Friday he would attend remotely.
Saudi authorities also shifted in-person classes at schools in Riyadh to remote learning from Sunday through Thursday.
Saturday’s attack was the third targeting Riyadh airport in a week. Saudi authorities said four of the 13 dead were Saudis, with the others foreign nationals. India’s embassy in Riyadh confirmed Sunday that an Indian citizen injured in the strike had died, raising the initial death toll from 12 to 13. Two earlier attacks on the airport killed four people in total, and one severely damaged a Saudi commercial aircraft parked on the tarmac.