Houthi missile strike kills 12 and wounds over 300 at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport
A missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300 others on Saturday, October 9, 2026. Saudi civil aviation authorities confirmed the dead included four Saudi citizens along with nationals from Bangladesh, Palestine, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Sudan. Airport operations were suspended and flights were diverted, with multiple countries advising citizens to avoid the airport.
The strike on King Khalid International Airport was described by multiple outlets as the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in more than a decade and the deadliest in any Gulf Arab country since the start of the broader Iran war. A missile hit a complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights, according to a regional official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The Saudi civil aviation authority's statement did not assign blame, though Houthi forces have been conducting an escalating campaign against Saudi airports, military facilities, and oil infrastructure over the preceding week.
The attack followed a Saudi-led coalition offensive launched last week in support of Yemeni government forces fighting the Houthis along Yemen's Red Sea coast. The Houthis had earlier accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa International Airport and issued no immediate claim of responsibility for the Riyadh strike; Reuters reported the group at times takes days to acknowledge such attacks. A follow-on incident was reported the next day, when the Saudi-led coalition said a new projectile caused a fire at the airport. A Houthi-launched ballistic missile was also intercepted in Al-Kharj governorate, southeast of Riyadh, and a separate projectile fell near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
The attack triggered immediate flight disruptions beyond the airport suspension. Air India, FlyDubai, Lufthansa Group, and Pakistan International Airlines had already suspended Saudi flights in the days prior, and Flightradar24 confirmed further diversions. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency expanded its guidance on Saudi airspace, warning of a "greater risk of misidentification of civil aircraft" amid ongoing missile and drone intercept efforts. Saudi authorities also warned the public against filming or sharing information about interception efforts, citing legal liability.