The Current Affairs Digest · ages 15+ · 2026-10-10
Attack on Riyadh Airport Kills 12 as Yemen's War Spills Into Saudi Arabia
The Iran-backed Houthis are hitting back at a Saudi-backed offensive. The fighting sits beside the Bab el-Mandeb, a chokepoint on India's trade route to Europe.
On Saturday an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, killed at least 12 people and injured 309, according to the Saudi aviation authority. The victims included travellers from Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan and the United States. Two days earlier, on Thursday, a missile strike on the same airport killed three Saudis, one of them a pilot.
The likely attackers are the Houthis, an armed movement backed by Iran that has controlled northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, since 2014. They claimed Thursday's strike and warned airlines to stay out of Saudi airspace. Yemen is Saudi Arabia's southern neighbour.
Their attacks answer an offensive launched on October 4 by Yemen's internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government to retake Houthi territory, supported by Saudi-led air strikes on Sanaa. The UN Special Envoy for Yemen warned on Friday that the country has slid back into full-scale war.
The conflict is now linked to the wider war between the United States and Iran, which has disrupted the Strait of Hormuz. Asked whether the US would join the Saudis against the Houthis, President Donald Trump said: "We may. We're going to look at it."
Key facts for revision: Houthis (Ansar Allah) control northern Yemen since 2014; offensive began October 4; Bab el-Mandeb links the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden; the Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Why it matters
Two of India's lifelines run through this region. Ships carrying Indian goods to Europe use the Red Sea and Suez Canal route, which must pass the Bab el-Mandeb. And India imports most of its crude oil, much of it from the Gulf. With Hormuz flows about 40% below pre-war levels, Saudi Arabia has been sending oil out via the Red Sea, so any threat to this strait raises fuel and shipping costs for India.
BAB EL-MANDEB STRAIT. It joins the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
Sources
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/10/attack-on-airport-in-saudi-capital-riyadh-leaves-several-injured
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/10/has-yemen-returned-to-full-scale-war
- https://time.com/article/2026/10/08/saudi-arabia-yemen-houthi-rebels-airport-attacks-war/
- https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/brent-crude-oil