Riyadh airport hit again as Saudi Arabia vows serious response to Houthi attacks

Riyadh airport hit again as Houthis widen attacks on Saudi Arabia

A second strike hit Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, a day after a deadly Houthi missile attack on the same site. The Saudi-led coalition said the projectile landed on Terminal 4, starting a fire that authorities brought under control. Saudi officials said one person was killed and 11 wounded in the latest strike. The previous day's attack killed 13 people and injured more than 300, the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in more than a decade. Some early reports put the death toll at 12.

The Houthis, an Iran-backed group that controls large parts of northern Yemen, said they were responsible for the deadly strike. They warned airlines and passengers not to use Saudi airports or airspace, calling them potential targets. A Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, has focused on airports while excluding Mecca and Medina, according to one Yemen specialist. The warning appeared designed to increase psychological pressure on Saudi Arabia and to push it to lift its blockade of Houthi-held areas.

Saudi Arabia called the airport attacks a war crime. Its energy minister pledged an equally serious response. The Saudi-led coalition has already hit back, with Houthi-run television reporting that Saudi airstrikes struck Sana'a International Airport. Heavy Saudi and Yemeni airstrikes on Houthi areas have continued since the night before.

The attacks have disrupted travel and daily life. Riyadh's airport closed, hundreds of flights were cancelled or diverted, and the closure was extended to Saturday. Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways cancelled flights to Riyadh and other Saudi airports. Schools in Riyadh switched to remote learning for the week for the second time in less than a month. Western diplomatic missions, including those of the US and UK, warned their nationals to stay away from the airport. The UK Foreign Office warned against all travel in large parts of Saudi Arabia.

The United States is weighing whether to join retaliatory strikes against the Houthis. President Donald Trump said his administration had just learned of the recent attack and would decide quickly. The UK said it would not take part in strikes at this stage, while continuing to provide ground-based air defence and air-to-air refuelling support to Saudi Arabia. European Union ministers are due to discuss the conflict on Monday. UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said he was appalled and stood in solidarity with those affected.

The strikes are part of a wider escalation in Yemen's civil war and the region. The Houthis seized Sana'a in 2014, and a Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government. The war has killed thousands and caused a severe humanitarian crisis. In recent weeks the Houthis have advanced along Yemen's Red Sea coast, capturing towns and cities and threatening the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a vital route for global shipping. Pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia have tried to retake territory, and the Houthis have been encircling Taiz.

The conflict is also tied to the wider war between the US and Iran. The Houthis are backed by Iran, which has provided technical and logistical support. Saudi Arabia supports the Yemeni government. Analysts say the Saudis believed they had contained the Houthis through unwritten understandings, including paying salaries of government employees in Houthi territory, but that arrangement has collapsed. The Houthis do not seek to take over Saudi Arabia, but want a deal on their terms. Saudi Arabia is reluctant to launch an all-out war after its 2015 Operation Decisive Storm backfired.

Saudi Arabia spends billions on defence and has a close military alliance with the US, but it has struggled to stop cheap drones and ballistic missiles fired across its border. Its territory is vast, and defending every possible target is expensive and difficult. The Houthis have attacked airports and energy facilities, including the Yanbu export port in Jeddah and the east-west pipeline. Saudi Arabia has shown an ability to repair oil infrastructure quickly, but the attacks on civilian airports have escalated, hitting Riyadh, Abha, Najran and King Abdullah among others.

Verified footage has been limited because Saudi Arabia restricts online video content, so the public picture is only a snapshot. Saudi state television showed the orange flash of the missile blast at Riyadh airport. Last Wednesday, the Saudis said they intercepted a ballistic missile. On Thursday, a strike hit an airplane and killed a pilot and at least three others in nearby airport facilities. Saturday's attack was the most deadly, and Sunday brought another fatality. Airlines have pulled planes from some routes, causing delays and cancellations.

In Yemen, the fighting has brought more suffering. On the west coast, pro-government forces showed the wreckage of a Houthi drone and said it could have killed 10 to 15 people. Displaced civilians are living under trees with little food or water. In Aden, a hospital received 51 wounded fighters in a day, filling its intensive care unit with gunshot and shrapnel injuries, including amputations. A 12-year-old boy, Ali, was injured by a drone and faces complicated surgery for shrapnel near his spine. The war continues with no clear victor.

Gulf states have warned that the security of Saudi Arabia is linked to their own. The Gulf Cooperation Council has a mutual defence mechanism that has been activated twice before, and there is pressure for a collective response. The coming days will test whether Saudi Arabia can find a way to defend itself, whether the US joins the fight, and whether the Houthis can be pushed back without a wider regional war.