The Huthis military spokesman said today that Yemen’s rebels reached Riyadh airport with a ballistic missile, and asked “one last time” airlines to avoid Saudi Arabia.
© Lusa
08/10/2026
by
Lusa
“ Aour armed forces aimed at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, with a ballistic missile that hit the target precisely and interrupted the operation of the airport,” said Yahya Saree, on social network X.
This is the third time this week since Monday that the Huthis, supported by Iran, have claimed an attack on the airport.
“ For the last time, we reiterate our call and warning all international airlines to stop using Saudi airspace,” Saree said.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia announced that three civilians died in attacks against their airports by the Huthis, while hostilities in Yemen worsen.
The rebels had previously claimed missile and drone fire at Riyadh and Abha International Airport in the southwest of the kingdom.
According to Saudi Arabia's General Civil Aviation Authority, in the attacks, citizens of Egypt, Algeria and Sudan died, and 36 other people were injured, some in a serious state.
For its part, the Saudi-led military coalition claimed in a statement that it “destroyed the ballistic missile launch platform” used to carry out the attack against Riyadh airport.
On-site air traffic has been experiencing frequent interruptions for several days, according to the Flightradar24 monitoring website, while the Huthis have warned airlines that Saudi airspace is “not safe”.
The conflict between the rebels, which for over a decade control the Yemeni capital, Sana, and vast areas of the country, and the government recognized by the international community and supported by Saudi Arabia rekindled in July, after years of relative calm, becoming a new front of war in the Middle East.
Since then, 201,217 people “have been forced to leave their homes,” according to the International Organization for Migration, which warns of the lack of financial resources needed to address the new humanitarian crisis in the poorest country of the Arabian Peninsula.
In September, a Huthis lightning offensive allowed them to take control of the entire Yemeni coast facing the Red Sea and strengthen dominance over the narrow strategic Bab el-Mandeb, which links Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal.
Government forces, supported by Saudi fighter planes, launched a counter-offensive last weekend, claiming “victory on several fronts”.
However, the Huthis dispute these advances, and military sources on both sides heard by the France-Presse news agency did not report significant changes on the ground.