Second projectile hits Riyadh airport as Houthis warn airlines and Saudi-led coalition vows response

An unidentified projectile struck Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, a day after an attack on the same airport killed 12 people and wounded more than 300, according to the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen. The airport remained closed on Sunday. The Houthis said they carried out four operations in the past 24 hours using ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, and warned airlines, companies and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace, with the exception of the airports in Mecca and Medina. Saudi government official and boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh said Canelo Alvarez remains willing to fight in Riyadh on Oct. 31, when he is scheduled to challenge Christian Mbilli for the WBC super middleweight championship.

The Saudi-led coalition said Sunday's projectile targeted Terminal 4 of King Khalid International Airport and caused a fire, according to The Jerusalem Post. The coalition also said Saudi air defences intercepted a cruise missile near the airport, a detail reported by both The Jerusalem Post and Deutsche Welle, which said no further details were immediately available. DW, citing the General Authority of Civil Aviation, reported that the Sunday afternoon attack resulted in injuries and that damage assessment and verification of the safety of facilities were still under way. ESPN reported that, according to the Saudi-led coalition, another projectile struck a passenger terminal at the airport on Sunday, causing further injuries that were not disclosed.

Saturday's attack killed 12 people and wounded more than 300, making it the deadliest such strike on the kingdom in over a decade, according to DW and The Jerusalem Post. The Jerusalem Post, citing Saudi authorities, reported that the dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis and nationals of the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, and that Saturday's strike was the third on Riyadh's airport in a week; four people were killed in two earlier attacks, one of which caused heavy damage to a Saudi commercial plane on the tarmac. The Times of India, citing the Saudi Gazette and the General Authority of Civil Aviation, gave the same breakdown of nationalities. The Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia said one Indian national who was wounded in the attack had died, according to DW, while The Jerusalem Post reported that one of the 12 people killed in Saturday's strike was an Indian national.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for strikes in the past 24 hours, saying a spokesman said the group targeted Riyadh airport multiple times as well as Dammam airport in eastern Saudi Arabia and two facilities belonging to state oil company Aramco, according to DW, which reported that Saudi authorities later confirmed an attack on Dammam airport on Sunday evening. The Times of India, citing Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree on X, reported a warning issued to all shipping companies, airlines, experts, employees, workers and travellers. DW and The Jerusalem Post quoted a Houthi statement saying Saudi airports and airspace are vulnerable and have become a theatre of operations, that Mecca and Medina airports would not be targeted, and that Saudi Arabia bears responsibility for any failed interceptions. The Houthi-run foreign ministry said further Saudi military action would trigger a stronger response and that its actions would be guided by reciprocity, with the statement "Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come, God willing" carried by Houthi-run Al Masirah television, according to DW and The Jerusalem Post. The Times of India quoted Saree describing the attacks as tit-for-tat, saying the armed forces are "steadfast in establishing the announced equations: airport for airport, siege for siege, and escalation for escalation."

The Saudi-led coalition vowed a firm response to the Oct. 10 attack on an airport passenger terminal and described it as a full-fledged war crime, according to DW, The Jerusalem Post and The Times of India. Times of India, citing the Saudi Gazette, reported that coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said the strike caused civilian casualties including 12 deaths, blamed the Houthi militia, called it a violation of international humanitarian law and customary rules of war, and said the coalition's Joint Forces Command would respond firmly in accordance with international humanitarian law. The Times of India reported that the Houthis have not claimed responsibility for that attack but claimed responsibility for two previous deadly attacks on Riyadh airport earlier in the week. DW reported that Saudi Arabia has stepped up military involvement in Yemen in recent weeks, striking the Houthis and backing a Yemeni government counteroffensive after the rebels seized territory along the Red Sea coast including around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a backdrop also described by The Jerusalem Post.

DW, citing the Houthi-run health authority, reported a claim that 91 Yemenis were killed by the Saudi-led coalition in the past five weeks, 60 percent of them women and children, and that a child was killed and six people wounded earlier on Sunday in a suspected Saudi airstrike on a house in Sanaa. The Times of India, citing the Houthi-run health ministry, reported six civilians including a woman and a child were injured in a Saudi strike on a home in Bab Sha'ab, Sanaa. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported that Saudi Arabia struck the international airport in Sanaa on Sunday afternoon, according to DW, and Houthi-aligned media cited by Al Jazeera reported seven airstrikes on the Harf Sufyan district in Amran governorate, according to The Times of India. DW said there was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities on those claims; The Times of India, citing Reuters, also reported no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday the attack was not acceptable, that he would be speaking to Saudi Arabia's de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and that the United States was considering, in his words, looking at potentially joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis, according to DW and The Jerusalem Post. DW reported that European leaders expressed shock, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen saying the EU stands in solidarity with Saudi Arabia and condemning a dangerous escalation, and warning that attacks by Iran's proxies are pushing the region into a spiral of violence and destabilising global transport and energy nodes. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul firmly condemned what he described as a terrorist act against Saudi Arabia and civil aviation, DW reported.

The Jerusalem Post reported that the Saudi Energy Ministry said a long-planned international energy conference would still go ahead in Riyadh on Sunday, with a five-day WPC Energy Congress taking place about 10 km from the airport; state TV said more than 70 ministers, 300 company executives and representatives of over 25 international energy organizations had confirmed attendance, and it was not immediately clear whether participants would attend in person or virtually. A ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum was also set to go ahead on Sunday with its plenary behind closed doors, and Saudi authorities notified parents that in-person classes would be suspended and shifted to remote learning from Sunday until Thursday, according to The Jerusalem Post.

ESPN reported that Alvarez, 36, is scheduled to face Christian Mbilli in Riyadh on Oct. 31 for the WBC super middleweight title, that it would be his first appearance since a decision loss to Terence Crawford in September 2025, and that he has fought in Riyadh once, in May 2025. According to Alalshikh, Alvarez reached out to say he would still fight in Riyadh in October regardless of events. ESPN also reported that the US government has an ongoing security alert that strongly recommends all US citizens avoid the airport and surrounding areas.

Where sources differ

• Responsibility for the Oct. 10 attack: The Times of India, citing the Saudi Gazette, reports that the Houthis have not claimed responsibility for that attack, while DW reports that the Houthis later claimed responsibility for the strikes and said they carried out four operations in the past 24 hours.
• Number of prior attacks on Riyadh airport: The Jerusalem Post describes Saturday's strike as the third on the airport in a week, with four people killed in two earlier attacks; DW frames Sunday's strike as the second in two days; The Times of India refers to two previous deadly attacks on Riyadh airport earlier in the week.
• The Indian national's death: DW reports that an Indian citizen died on Sunday after being wounded in Saturday's attack, while The Jerusalem Post reports that one of the 12 people killed in Saturday's strike was an Indian national, leaving unclear whether the death is counted within the toll of 12.
• Characterisation of the Sunday strike: The Jerusalem Post and DW attribute to the Saudi-led coalition the description of an "unidentified projectile" hitting the airport, with The Jerusalem Post specifying Terminal 4, while ESPN attributes to the coalition the description of a projectile striking a passenger terminal; DW also reports a coalition statement that a cruise missile was intercepted near the airport.

• No source establishes who launched the Sunday projectile; the Saudi-led coalition describes it as an unidentified projectile and no independent verification of the attacker is provided.
• Casualty figures for both the Saturday and Sunday attacks come from Saudi authorities and Houthi-run bodies, with no independent confirmation reported.
• The extent of injuries and damage from Sunday's strike is unspecified; Saudi and coalition statements say assessment and verification were ongoing and that injuries were undisclosed.
• No Saudi government statement is reported responding to the Houthi-run health authority's or health ministry's casualty claims, or to reports that Sanaa's international airport and sites in Amran were struck.
• No direct statement from Canelo Alvarez himself appears in the sources; his willingness to fight is conveyed only through Turki Alalshikh.
• No statement is reported from Christian Mbilli, the opponent, or from fight organisers confirming the Oct. 31 bout is proceeding.
• It is not established whether participants in the Riyadh energy congress would attend in person or virtually, nor whether the listed 12 fatalities are a final count.
• No source establishes the full roster of airlines that have suspended or altered service to Saudi airports in response to the Houthi warning.

1. ESPN — original — by Brett Okamoto
2. The Jerusalem Post — by JERUSALEM POST STAFF
3. The Times of India — by PRANJAL PANDEY

Read the original at ESPN

• Alabama fan slaps helmet of Georgia linebacker Raylen Wilson after Crimson Tide loss
• Buyers have claimed about 40% of condos at The Boca Raton, project representative says
• Beatrice Colombis, Charlotte Miles and Dillon Chan named ABC Young Performers Awards finalists
• Broncos fans fill SoFi Stadium for Chargers' Week 5 home game
• Giants and Commanders tie 27-27 after overtime missed kick and fumble
• UK Greens leader Polanski proposes giving leader more control over party strategy