Missile Strike Kills 12 at Riyadh Airport as US and Others Issue Travel Warnings
Deadly Terminal Strike Halts Capital Aviation
At least 12 people were killed and 309 others were wounded when a missile struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, October 10, 2026, marking the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
The strike on the capital’s second-busiest aviation facility forced authorities to close the airport until at least late Sunday, leading to the cancellation of more than 600 flights. The fatalities included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, an American, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian, a Palestinian, and a Sudanese, the kingdom’s civil aviation body reported.
Houthi Official Claims Responsibility for Riyadh Airport Strike
The Saturday explosion at a terminal building capped a volatile week for the Saudi capital, following two earlier missile strikes on the facility, including one on Thursday that killed three Saudi nationals, including a pilot.
Senior Houthi official Nasr al-Din Amer appeared to acknowledge responsibility for the weekend operation, writing on X, “We shut down Riyadh international airport.”
UN Condemns Attacks as Nations Issue Travel Warnings
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the strike, stating on X that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international law.
Following the closure of King Khalid International Airport, aviation authorities and foreign governments moved quickly to restrict travel. The United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Canada issued warnings advising their citizens against using the facility.
Coalition Vows Decisive Response
A Houthi military statement issued Sunday reiterated warnings to all airlines and travelers to avoid Saudi airports and airspace, declaring them vulnerable to targeting, with the exception of airports in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The statement added that Saudi Arabia would bear responsibility for interception failures and that the group intended to continue responding to blockades with blockades and escalation with escalation.
Al-Maliki described the airport strike as a war crime. Al-Maliki stated in a post on X that joint coalition forces would respond decisively in accordance with customary international humanitarian law. Meanwhile, the Saudi energy ministry announced that the World Petroleum Congress proceeded as scheduled in Riyadh on Sunday, though delegate attendance figures remained unconfirmed.
Trump Considers Joining Saudi Arabia in Houthi Retaliation
President Donald Trump told reporters in Washington on October 10, 2026, that he is considering joining Saudi Arabia in retaliating against the Iran-backed Houthis. The potential intervention could draw the United States deeper into a second front tied to the broader Iran conflict, following previous U.S. resistance to direct military involvement in Yemen’s civil war.
In the United Kingdom, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said in a BBC television interview on Sunday that his government is examining ways to support Riyadh. Streeting noted that he spoke with his Saudi counterpart, Khalid bin Salman, to evaluate assistance, though he emphasized that London is not engaging in offensive operations at this stage and maintains that no military solution exists for the conflict.