Saudi Arabia: Three dead and 36 injured in Houthi attacks on the Riyadh and Abha airports

Three civilians were killed and 36 injured in two attacks on Saudi airports, for which Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility, according to the kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA). The attacks took place on Tuesday, October 6, and Wednesday, October 7, at Abha International Airport and Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport. The figures are those given by the Saudi authority.

In Abha, two women, a Moroccan and an Algerian resident of the country, were killed and another 28 people were injured. In Riyadh, a Sudanese national was killed and eight people were injured, five of them Saudis. GACA said it is working with the relevant security authorities to assess the damage and to take measures for the safety of passengers and staff.

Interception and Houthi claim

The spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition, Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki, said his forces intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh and destroyed a launcher in Sanaa that had been used for attacks on the Saudi capital. The Houthis say they hit King Khalid airport with a ballistic missile. The US embassy in Riyadh issued a new security alert for American citizens in the country.

Aden and the front lines

Yemen’s internationally recognised government said the Houthis also fired ballistic missiles and drones at Aden airport on Wednesday, with no casualties reported. The attacks coincide with escalating fighting between government forces and the Houthis around Bab el-Mandeb and Taiz, which Geopolitiki has covered in its reports on the offensive towards Sanaa and on the claims over Mokha and Riyadh airport.

It is not the first time Riyadh’s airport has been targeted. On September 19 a fire broke out at one of its fuel facilities, and the Houthis announced another strike on the airport in early October.