Saudi Arabia says three killed at airport as Yemen war expands

Saudi Arabia's King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was attacked on Thursday, resulting in the deaths of three Saudi nationals, including a pilot named Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation. The attacks, which the Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed were carried out with two cruise missiles, also injured several people and caused material damage.

The Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, also claimed to have targeted an airport in the southwestern city of Najran and an airbase in Khamis Mushait with ballistic missiles, although Saudi authorities have not confirmed the latter two attacks. The rebels say they are targeting Saudi Arabia in response to its support for the Yemeni government in the country's civil war.

The conflict between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government has escalated in recent days, with Saudi Arabia saying it will "punish" the Houthi rebels for the attacks. The kingdom has been supporting a Yemeni government counter-offensive against the Houthis, who have made advances along Yemen's Red Sea coast.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Business Recorder, Dawn, The National UAE, The National Business — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.