The coalition announces that Riyadh Airport was subjected to a new attack and the destruction of a missile in its vicinity
Published 11 October 2026, 02:03 GMT
Last updated 2 minutes ago
Reading time: 5 minutes
The Saudi-led coalition confirmed on Sunday that King Khalid Airport in Riyadh had been subjected to a new attack, causing a fire that the authorities were working to combat, the day after a bombing that caused the most casualties in the Kingdom in a decade, killing at least 12 people and wounding hundreds.
Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the military coalition to support the government in Yemen, said on the
AFP journalists heard two successive explosions in central Riyadh on Sunday afternoon, followed by a powerful explosion, as three residents of the capital reported hearing to reporters.
Residents in Riyadh reported seeing ambulances heading towards Riyadh Airport, located in the northeast of the capital.
An official in the Riyadh metro network told Agence France-Presse that the capital’s authorities decided to suspend the arrival of trains to two out of three stations leading to the airport, noting that the decision “will be subject to daily review.”
On Sunday, the Ansar Allah group in Yemen (the Houthis) renewed its warning against using Saudi airports and airspace because they are vulnerable to being targeted.
The military spokesman for the group, Yahya Saree, issued a warning to all air navigation companies, experts, employees, workers and travelers against using Saudi airports and airspace because they are vulnerable to being targeted and a theater of operations, but he excluded Mecca and Medina.
Saree stated that the Yemeni group "is continuing to establish the announced equations, equating airport with airport, siege with siege, and escalation with escalation until its goals are achieved."
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The new warning from the Ansar Allah group was preceded by a statement from the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia in which it announced that its employees were informed of the need to obtain a special permit to use Jeddah and Dammam airports.
The statement said: “US government employees working in Saudi Arabia now require a special permit to use King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, in addition to Jeddah and Dammam airports.”
The Foreign Ministry, run by the Ansar Allah group, vowed on Sunday a strong response to any other military move by Saudi Arabia in Yemen, saying that “the principle of reciprocity is what determines the nature of the military response to the Saudi regime at this stage.”
The Saudi Embassy in Kuwait announced that it would provide buses to return its citizens whose flights to Riyadh were canceled after the bloody attack on the airport in the Saudi capital.
The Kuwaiti capital is more than 600 kilometers away from the Saudi capital.
Riyadh International Airport extended its suspension on Sunday, according to what a senior source in the aviation sector told Agence France-Presse on Sunday, while the “Flight Radar 24” platform specialized in monitoring air traffic indicated “the closure of Riyadh Airport has been extended for another 24 hours, until 21:00 GMT today.”
Another source who works in supervising flights to Riyadh confirmed that operations had been halted “until further notice.”
He continued to Agence France-Presse, "The information available to us indicates that operations have been suspended until further notice, and that some systems, such as radar and communications devices, have been damaged," noting that the condition of the stands must also be evaluated.
Western embassies in Saudi Arabia call on their nationals to stay away from Riyadh Airport
On Saturday, the embassies of Canada, Germany and Spain in Saudi Arabia called on their nationals to stay away from Riyadh International Airport, following reports that it had been attacked.
The Spanish embassy, via the X platform, alerted its citizens of a “new attack” on the airport.
The Canadian embassy merely said that “ongoing military activity,” the nature of which was not specified, was affecting the airport, while the German mission attributed its request to “the current situation.”
On Friday, the French embassy urged French nationals to exercise "utmost caution" in Saudi Arabia due to "the strikes launched by the Houthis in recent days," while warning its citizens against photographing the areas that were bombed or sharing any photos online.
Moments to watch
Distance education in Riyadh
Schools in Riyadh moved to the distance education system as of Sunday, following the attack that targeted the airport in the Saudi capital, according to a letter addressed to parents and seen by Agence France-Presse.
The email stated that, in line with the directives of the Ministry of Education, all schools in Riyadh will move to distance learning throughout the week. This is the second time such a measure has been taken in the capital in less than a month.
The Saudi-led military coalition announced the interception and destruction of a ballistic missile launched by the Ansar Allah group in Al-Kharj Governorate, hours after it announced that a projectile had fallen in the vicinity of King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, east of the Kingdom.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation announced the killing of 12 people, including four Saudis and eight residents of different nationalities, and the injury of 309 others, some of whom are in critical conditions, as a result of the attack on King Khalid International Airport on Saturday afternoon.
The authority added that the attack caused material damage, which is being assessed, after it announced the temporary suspension of operational operations at the airport.
US President Donald Trump described the attack as "unacceptable" and said that he would speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Trump said in previous statements that he would make a “quick” decision regarding the possibility of the United States joining Saudi Arabia in directing strikes against the Ansar Allah group in Yemen.
International and Arab condemnations
The attack on Riyadh Airport sparked widespread international and Arab condemnation.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the "horrific terrorist attack" that targeted Riyadh Airport.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen considered this attack a "dangerous escalation."
The attack also sparked condemnations from Arab and foreign countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq, in addition to the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other regional organizations.
