The airport in the Saudi capital has been attacked again, officials say

Several individuals sustained injuries in an assault on an international airport in the Saudi capital, according to reports, just a few days after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed two successful strikes on the hub. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was cleared following a powerful explosion heard on Saturday, according to two international news organizations.

Over a dozen ambulances raced to the scene, as reported by Reuters, citing an eyewitness. Saudi authorities have not issued a statement, while the airport advised travelers to consult their airline before making arrangements to visit the airport. The assault occurs a day after authorities reported that three Saudi citizens, including a pilot, lost their lives in two attacks by Iran-backed Houthis the day before.

Three additional fatalities were reported in Houthi attacks on two Saudi airports on October 6 and 7. A local hospital source informed AFP that dozens of individuals were injured in the suspected assault on Saturday. Despite the absence of official confirmation of an attack, Western embassies in Saudi Arabia have cautioned their citizens to avoid the airport.

Multiple Gulf airlines have canceled their flights to and from the airport, citing the "security situation" there. All flights to Riyadh have either been rerouted or canceled, aviation tracking service Flightradar indicates. The suspected attack occurs amidst a significant surge in renewed conflict between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis, who control the majority of the country’s northwest.

The Houthis attribute their actions to the nation's backing of government forces in Yemen's civil war. The conflict escalated after the Houthis seized vital sections of the Red Sea coast in a swift offensive, including the port of Mokha on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrowest point of the Red Sea and a critical chokepoint for global shipping.

Yemeni pro-government forces have since claimed to have "secured" the strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. A Saudi-led coalition was established in 2015 to counter the Houthis' advances in Yemen, following their push to take over the country from the internationally recognized government. An informal ceasefire was negotiated in 2022 after protracted air strikes and ground battles resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, sparking one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises.

However, the informal truce began to disintegrate in July, when the Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities, and tankers in the Red Sea, claiming retaliation for what they described as a prolonged Saudi blockade and an air strike on Sanaa airport.