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Yemen’s Houthis (Ansar Allah) claimed two separate ballistic missile attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 8, as explosions disrupted air traffic in the Saudi capital and reports emerged of fires and possible strikes on oil and defense-related infrastructure elsewhere in the kingdom.
In a statement issued early in the day, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said the group had “targeted King Khalid Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile,” which he said “hit its target accurately” and disrupted airport operations.
Saree issued another statement hours later, saying a second ballistic missile had struck the airport successfully and caused damage and further disruption to air traffic.
Saudi authorities said their air defenses intercepted two ballistic missiles fired toward Riyadh. Still, impacts were reported.
The attacks produced visible disruption at King Khalid International Airport. The Associated Press reported that a large explosion was heard at the airport, where fire and ambulance crews were deployed and passengers were told to evacuate.
Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 later reported that the airport had “closed again,” with no landings or takeoffs reported for over an hour.
Reuters reported that smoke was rising from a stationary civilian aircraft at the airport. Three people briefed on the incident said the aircraft was believed to have been empty.
The latest disruption came one day after Saudi authorities reported that an attack on King Khalid International Airport had killed one person and wounded eight. A separate attack on Abha International Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia killed two people.
The escalation extended beyond Saudi Arabia’s airports. Satellite imagery on October 8 showed an expanding fire and dense smoke over the Abqaiq oil facilities in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, with heat signatures substantially above normal.
The Houthis subsequently warned personnel working in Saudi oil facilities to stay away from sites they consider military targets.
“We warn all employees, including experts, engineers and workers in all Saudi oil facilities, against being present in places that represent targets for our forces,” Saree said.
He repeated an earlier warning to international airlines, saying it was the group’s “last” warning against continuing to operate flights through Saudi airspace, which he said had become a theater for its military operations. Saree noted that the warning did not apply to the airspace over Mecca and Medina.
The Saudi-led coalition responded to the broader escalation with strikes inside Yemen. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said Thursday that coalition forces had destroyed 82 Houthi military targets in Saada, Hodeidah, Al-Jawf and Marib, including ballistic missile storage sites, command centers and weapons depots.
Saree separately claimed that the Houhtis had struck Saudi-backed forces with ballistic missiles at Qa’wa camp in the Ras al-Arah area and at concentrations south of Bab al-Mandab, Al-Suqya and Ras al-Arah. He claimed the attacks caused casualties and fires at weapons stores.
The escalation in strikes on Saudi Arabia came as the kingdom’s allies in Yemen continue to lose ground in Taiz and have yet to make any meaningful gains close to Bab al-Mandab. Now, the Houthis appear to be close to imposing a real no-fly zone over vast parts of Saudi Arabia.
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