The Houthis announce the targeting of Riyadh Airport with a “ballistic missile,” and Saudi Arabia announces the injury of a person of Arab nationality.
Published 14 October 2026, 06:44 GMT
Last updated 6 minutes ago
Reading time: 5 minutes
The military spokesman for the Ansar Allah Houthi group, Yahya Saree, announced on Wednesday that King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, had been targeted with a ballistic missile. He said that its hit was accurate and direct.
Saree added that the group carried out another operation targeting gatherings of Saudi forces in the Ras Al-Ara and Al-Mudaraba areas with three ballistic missiles, claiming that it resulted in deaths and injuries and damage to a number of vehicles.
In a related context, Saree said, “During the past twenty-four hours, Saudi warplanes launched 42 air strikes and missile attacks targeting civilian objects in the capital, Sana’a, and the governorates of Taiz, Lahj, Ma’rib, and Amran, in addition to Mayon Island.”
He explained that the attacks were carried out using F-15 and Typhoon aircraft launched from the Khamis Mushait and Taif bases, in addition to missile attacks that he said were launched from Najran. He added that the total Saudi raids and missile attacks since the start of the escalation amounted, according to the group’s statistics, to 2,323 attacks.
Saree warned that targeting Mayon Island with air and missile strikes threatens maritime shipping lines, holding Saudi Arabia responsible for any consequences that may result from that, and what he described as a threat to the safety of navigation.
On the other hand, the official spokesman for the Saudi Civil Defense announced on Wednesday that a person of an Arab nationality, whom he did not specify, was injured as a result of fragments of a ballistic missile falling in Riyadh, after it was intercepted and destroyed.
He pointed out that the interception operation, in which the Saudi authorities accused the Ansar Allah Houthi group of launching the missile, also caused “limited material damage” to a house and a vehicle.
Earlier, the Saudi authorities announced that four people were injured as a result of the falling debris of two missiles they intercepted over Riyadh, and a fire broke out in a building belonging to Aramco in Dhahran, east of the Kingdom, amid an escalation in mutual attacks between the Saudi-led coalition and the Ansar Allah group.
The Saudi Civil Defense said that the injured were two women, a man, and a child, and that the debris from the two missiles fired by the group caused limited damage to fifteen homes in the capital.
The Ansar Allah group called on international shipping companies, civilians and workers to evacuate Saudi airports and oil installations, which it described as “legitimate military targets.”
A Saudi Ministry of Energy official reported that an attack targeted an Aramco administrative building on Tuesday evening, causing a “limited fire,” without injuries or deaths.
Three people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran was extensively damaged in Tuesday's attack, and that the fire spread across several floors.
Two of them reported that operations continued normally, with employees working from home, while a fourth source said that some tasks were transferred to the company's offices around the world.
The Saudi Ministry of Energy described the fire as “limited” and confirmed that there were no injuries or deaths. Aramco did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Agence France-Presse also quoted company employees as saying that a tower inside the headquarters was hit, but it said it was unable to enter the site and independently verify the extent of the damage.
King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was subjected to four attacks, including an attack on Saturday that killed 13 people. According to Reuters, the authorities closed the airport until October 17, while airlines canceled flights to Saudi Arabia.
On a diplomatic level, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Ali Al-Zaidi, and the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, discussed in Riyadh the strengthening of security coordination and bilateral relations, while Al-Zaidi condemned the attacks on King Khalid Airport and affirmed his refusal to use Iraqi territory to target Saudi Arabia and countries in the region.
Raids on oil facilities in Yemen
The attacks came after raids launched by the coalition, on Tuesday, on oil facilities in Sanaa and the Dhamar and Saada governorates, which it said were being used to fuel and supply the war effort of the Ansar Allah group and threaten Saudi Arabia and its waterways.
The raids included the Sabahah station of the Yemeni Oil Company on the outskirts of Sanaa, after the coalition called on civilians to evacuate it. The group's Al Masirah TV confirmed that the site had been targeted.
A Yemeni in Sanaa told the BBC: “Targeting the oil company and diesel derivatives led to a major economic crisis, as the prices of everything rose during the day and night, and obtaining diesel became difficult, while people lined up in queues in front of gas stations, and various activities stopped.”
For his part, another citizen described the impact of the crisis on movement in the Houthi-controlled capital, saying: “Cars stopped due to a gasoline outage, and we no longer have anything we can rely on, so we are forced to move on foot.”
The repercussions were not limited to the economic and service aspects, as citizens spoke of a state of fear and anxiety as a result of the targeting. One of them said: “Crisis erupted yesterday after the oil company was targeted, and a state of fear prevailed among the people, while we are trying to keep them away from the targeting sites, but their suffering continues.”
The group had vowed a "harsh and painful" response, and warned workers in Saudi oil facilities against approaching sites it said might be targeted.
These developments come after an attack on Riyadh International Airport on Saturday, which killed 13 people and suspended its operations, according to Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Taiz: “The siege surrounds us from all sides”
The World Food Program said on Wednesday that the fighting had cut off access to life-saving humanitarian aid to about 800,000 people in Taiz and other areas affected by the conflict.
He explained that the fighting and road closures made some areas inaccessible, and that stocks of wheat flour were almost exhausted, while the remaining food in local markets may only be sufficient for a short period.
One of the city's residents told the BBC, describing the deterioration of living conditions:
"The situation in Taiz has become very difficult, and prices are constantly rising from day to day, while the citizen is unable to provide for his daily needs. There are no salaries, and the siege surrounds us on all sides, and we do not have enough to face these conditions."
For her part, a Taiz resident described the impact of the siege and confrontations on the daily lives of residents, saying: “The city of Taiz is besieged from all directions, which has led to an increase in food prices and a lack of oil derivatives. We are living in a state of fear and anxiety due to the siege, clashes, and shells falling on residential neighborhoods.”
In turn, Yemeni Foreign Minister Afrah Al-Zuba warned that the recent escalation and tightening of the siege on the city of Taiz and its villages heralds a humanitarian catastrophe affecting more than 4 million people, including those trapped inside the city and displaced people from affected districts, including Al-Shamayatayn, Al-Mawasit, and Jabal Habashi.
In a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the UN Security Council, on Wednesday, Al-Zuba called for direct international pressure to immediately lift the siege, open all Taiz ports to civilians and supply chains, and ensure sustainable and unhindered access to food, fuel and drinking water.
The World Program representative and country director in Yemen, Al-Khader Dalloum, warned that the situation could quickly turn into a humanitarian catastrophe if aid cannot be transported safely and delivered to those most in need.
Hospitals face an influx of wounded and a shortage of supplies
The committee's health coordinator, Firas Abu Samra, said that workers caring for war injuries are under tremendous pressure. He explained that only a small percentage of health facilities operating in Yemen are able to provide comprehensive care for these injuries, while hospitals face a shortage of surgical supplies, anesthesia, oxygen, and medications.
The committee warned that the health sector, which has been exhausted by more than ten years of conflict, economic crisis, displacement, and disease outbreaks, may not have sufficient capacity to absorb a new wave of mass casualties if the fighting intensifies.
