The Current Affairs Digest · ages 15+ · 2026-10-12
Second Strike on Riyadh Airport in 24 Hours as Yemen's War Escalates
A missile killed 12 people on Saturday. The Houthis claimed attacks on Sunday, and another strike followed. Saudi Arabia vows to retaliate.
On Saturday 10 October a missile struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Saudi civil aviation authorities said 12 people were killed and 309 wounded, the deadliest attack on the kingdom in more than a decade. The dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis and one citizen each of the US, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan.
On Sunday the Houthis, an Iran-backed movement in northern Yemen, claimed multiple operations against the airport, and a second strike that evening caused injuries. Airport operations were suspended and Riyadh schools moved to remote learning for a week. Saudi Arabia has promised to retaliate "firmly".
The escalation follows the collapse of a UN-brokered truce that had largely held since 2022. On 4 October the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched the "Dawn of Yemen" offensive to retake Houthi territory, including the port of Mocha. Al Jazeera could not verify the rival battlefield claims. The Houthis imposed a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia in July.
President Trump said the US "may" join Saudi operations; Democratic Senator Chris Murphy warned the war is "spiraling out of control". Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed on 5 October to activate "deterrence measures" under a mutual defence agreement signed in August.
Why it matters
Attacks on civilian infrastructure far from the front line change the war's character: the Houthis are now hitting a capital's main airport, while Yemen's conflict also links to the US-Iran war, in which talks remain stalled. For India, the Gulf is a major source of crude oil and home to a large Indian workforce, so escalation matters for prices and for citizens abroad.
THE RED SEA. Saudi Arabia and Yemen sit on the eastern shore of the Red Sea.
Sources
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/11/yemen-fighting-expands-as-houthis-attack-saudi-airport-what-to-know
- https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-us-elections-saudi-arabia-yemen-houthis/
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/iran-calls-latest-u-s-proposal-to-end-war-insufficient-as-netanyahus-corruption-trial-resumes