Saudi capital airport hit again, sparking evacuations, reports say

King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was evacuated on Saturday following a loud blast, according to reports from two international news agencies. Eyewitnesses reported over a dozen ambulances rushing to the scene, though Saudi authorities have not yet commented on the incident. The airport advised passengers to verify travel arrangements with their respective airlines.

This attack follows the previous onslaught of three Saudi nationals, including a pilot, killed by the Houthis, and three others who lost their lives in Houthi attacks on two Saudi airports on October 6 and 7. These events signal a heightened intensity in the ongoing conflict between the Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis, who are in control of the northern part of Yemen.

The Houthis attribute their actions to Saudi Arabia's backing of government forces in the civil war of Yemen. Escalation in the conflict accelerated after the Houthis seized significant portions of the Red Sea coast, including the crucial port of Mokha on Bab al-Mandab Strait, a narrowest point of the Red Sea serving as a chokepoint for global shipping.

In response, pro-government forces claimed to have secured the strait's southern end. The Saudi-led coalition, established in 2015, aimed to prevent the Houthis from gaining control of Yemen from the internationally recognized government. A temporary ceasefire was reached in 2022 after years of intense warfare, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, contributing to one of the world's largest humanitarian crises.

However, the informal truce fractured in July when the Houthis announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and commenced missile and drone strikes targeting Saudi airports, oil facilities, and tankers in the Red Sea. They blamed the retaliatory measures on the Saudi blockade and a previous air strike on Sanaa airport.