SANAA / RIYADH: Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed a flurry of attacks on Saudi targets on Wednesday including firing a ballistic missile at Riyadh airport, as the group continued its battle for territory against government forces supported by the Kingdom.
Saudi civil aviation confirmed attacks on Abha International Airport and King Khalid International Airport, which left three dead and dozens wounded.
It said that Egyptian and Algerian nationals were killed at Abha airport, while a Sudanese national lost their life at Riyadh airport, with 36 people wounded in both attacks.
Earlier, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said they had targeted Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile.
Civil aviation authority says three killed, 36 injured after Abha, Riyadh airports struck; King Khalid Air Base also hit
The group also claimed targeting a military supply convoy near the airport in the Yemeni city of Aden. The Saba news agency reported missiles and drones targeting that airport.
It cited transport authorities as saying one of the missiles landed near the runway minutes before the scheduled arrival of a flight from Cairo, which was forced to divert to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
The agency also reported that the Houthis fired a missile at the city of Taiz, which is held by government forces, wounding five civilians.
“We went out into the street to check on the wounded and saw young civilians who had been hit. The Houthi shell landed in the middle of the street, right in an area crowded with civilians,” Taiz resident Al-Fateh al-Eisaei told AFP.
Houthi drones and missiles also targeted the King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, spokesman Saree said.
This is the second time this week that the Houthis claimed to have attacked the main airport in the Saudi capital.
Later, the Saudi-led coalition announced it had destroyed the ballistic missile launcher used to target Riyadh airport.
On Tuesday, the civil aviation authority said at least three people were wounded in attacks on Jazan and Najran airports near the Yemen border a day earlier.
Earlier this week, Yemen’s government declared a counter-offensive and claimed it had uprooted Houthi fighters from strategic areas on the Red Sea and the port city of Mocha.
But the rebels say they are holding their territory, and military sources from both sides contacted by AFP have not reported any major changes on the ground.
Claims by the warring parties have been impossible to independently verify with the situation moving fast and access for journalists difficult.
According to the International Organisation for Migration (UN-IOM), more than 200,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since fighting resumed. Nearly all of them, 197,755, have been displaced since early September, it added.
Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2026
