Symbolic imageRiyadh airport stays shut after deadliest Houthi attack on Saudi soil in a decade
Saudi Arabia extended the closure of Riyadh's King Khalid airport until Saturday after repeated Houthi strikes. Iran has offered to mediate.
A missile strike on Terminal 3 on Saturday, 10 October, killed 12 or 13 people (sources differ) and wounded more than 300, the deadliest attack in the kingdom in over a decade. On Sunday a projectile hit Terminal 4, killing one Pakistani resident and injuring 11, and Dammam's airport was struck too. A Houthi military spokesperson claimed the attacks and said two Aramco facilities were also hit. A notice to airmen keeps Riyadh closed until 2100 GMT on 17 October.
Flights cancelled, travel warnings
Cirium put cancellations across Saudi airports at 46.4%. Lufthansa Group cancelled Riyadh flights until 16 October, Air France-KLM until the end of the month, and Qatar Airways suspended Riyadh and Dammam. Britain's embassy advised against all but essential travel to Jeddah, Dammam and all airports except Medina.
Saudi response and coastal fighting
The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted a cruise missile near Riyadh's airport on Sunday and a ballistic missile on Monday. Yemen's government says it retook positions near Bab el-Mandeb, which the Houthis dispute; the coalition's claim of 324 targets destroyed is unverified.
Iran offers mediation
In a call with his Saudi counterpart on Sunday, Iran's foreign minister offered to facilitate talks with the Houthis, saying the region's crises cannot be resolved militarily, according to a statement on Telegram.