Twelve people were killed and 309 others injured when King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was struck in an attack on Saturday, October 10, 2026, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of Saudi Arabia.
GACA released the casualty toll early Sunday. Among those killed were four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, and one national each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, and Sudan.
Missile Strikes Passenger Terminal
Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported that a missile struck a passenger terminal at the airport. Airport operations were temporarily suspended while authorities assessed the damage and secured passengers and staff on the premises.
The injured were transported to several hospitals across the Saudi capital. Officials confirmed that some of the wounded are in critical condition, according to GACA.
Saudi Military Points to Houthi Rebels
The GACA statement did not initially identify the party responsible for the attack. Saudi military spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki later attributed the strike to Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
The Houthis have previously launched ballistic missile and drone attacks against Saudi targets as part of an ongoing conflict between the group and a Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen's internationally recognized government.
Third Strike in One Week
According to Anadolu's updated reporting, Saturday's attack was at least the third strike on the Riyadh airport within a single week. An earlier attack on October 7, 2026 — just three days prior — resulted in one person killed and eight others injured at the same airport, GACA said in a previous statement.
The frequency and scale of the strikes represent a significant escalation in Houthi targeting of civilian aviation infrastructure inside Saudi Arabia.
US and Canada Issue Travel Warnings
Following the Saturday attack, the United States mission in Saudi Arabia urged American citizens to avoid King Khalid International Airport and the surrounding areas until further notice.
Canada's embassy in Riyadh similarly advised Canadian nationals against traveling to the airport, citing ongoing military activity in the area as the basis for the warning.
Escalating Conflict in the Region
The attacks come amid an intensification of hostilities between the Houthi movement and the Saudi-led coalition. The coalition has been engaged in military operations in Yemen in support of the country's internationally recognized government, while the Houthis have repeatedly struck targets inside Saudi Arabia using ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The repeated targeting of Riyadh's main international airport underscores the growing reach and frequency of Houthi offensive operations against civilian infrastructure in the kingdom.
By the Numbers
- 12 — people killed in the October 10 Riyadh airport attack
- 309 — people injured in the same attack
- 4 — Saudi citizens among the dead
- 2 — Bangladeshi nationals killed
- 6 — other nationalities represented among the dead (US, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Sudan — one each)
- 1 — person killed in the earlier October 7 attack at the same airport
- 8 — injured in the October 7 attack
- 3 — total attacks on King Khalid International Airport within one week
Why This Matters
The repeated strikes on one of Saudi Arabia's busiest international airports within a single week mark a sharp escalation in the Yemen conflict's reach into civilian infrastructure, with casualties now spanning at least eight nationalities. The temporary suspension of airport operations and the issuance of travel advisories by both the United States and Canada signal significant disruption to international travel and heightened safety risks for foreign nationals in the Saudi capital. The rising toll — from one death in the October 7 attack to twelve in Saturday's strike — illustrates the increasing lethality of Houthi offensive operations.
Photo credit: Photo courtesy of Anadolu Agency