Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed three Houthi ballistic missiles on Monday, as the main international airport in the kingdom’s capital remained closed following a series of attacks that have killed at least 20 people and wounded hundreds over the past week.
The Saudi military said one missile was intercepted over Riyadh and two others were destroyed over Khamis Mushait in the southwest of the country. The Houthi-controlled armed forces claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it had targeted Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and a military base. The group also renewed its warnings to international airlines against operating flights to Saudi airports.
The attacks came soon after Saudi authorities announced that King Khalid International Airport would remain closed until further notice. A notice to air missions (NOTAM) indicates it will remain shut until at least October 17.
The latest missile attack came two days after a Houthi strike on the airport killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300 in the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
Footage of Saturday’s strike shows dozens of passengers waiting to board their flight when a blast suddenly causes part of the ceiling to collapse.
Some clasped their hands over their heads as they ran for safety, while dust filled the area and debris crashed to the floor, the footage obtained by Al Arabiya television news channel shows.
Hours before Monday’s ballistic missile attacks, Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation authority said the airport would remain closed, with several hundred flights cancelled, “to complete the necessary procedures to verify the safety and operational readiness of the airport’s facilities.”
The decision follows another missile attack on the airport on Sunday, which killed a Pakistani resident and wounded 11 other people. Saturday’s strike on the airport killed four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, an American, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian, a Palestinian and a Sudanese, and wounded 309 others, Saudi authorities said. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh said Sunday that an Indian citizen wounded in the strike later died.
The Houthis also claimed to have targeted King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Sunday. Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation authority confirmed the airport had come under attack Sunday evening and said authorities were assessing damage.
The Houthis said the strikes were in response to an intensified Saudi air campaign in Yemen. The group said on Monday that Saudi warplanes and missile units had carried out 119 attacks over the past 24 hours, claiming these had killed at least 14 civilians, including women and children. CNN cannot independently verify the claim. The group also threatened to continue targeting airports and other sites inside the kingdom.
Following Saturday’s attack, US President Donald Trump said he was considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, having previously resisted Saudi requests for direct military intervention.
Houthi strikes on the King Khalid International Airport began last week. Six people were killed and dozens more wounded in attacks on the airport between Tuesday and Thursday, according to Saudi authorities.
One traveler at the airport during Saturday’s attack told Reuters news agency they saw something fly across the sky outside before part of the ceiling near a departure gate collapsed.
Another recalled hearing an explosion before seeing several people lying wounded on the ground.
An eyewitness video released by Reuters showed large boards and debris strewn across the terminal floor, with people moving through a dust-filled hall.
Travel warning
King Khalid International Airport, Saudi Arabia’s second-busiest, serves the capital, Riyadh, a city of about eight million people.
The US, UK, Spain and Canada are among countries warning their citizens against using the airport.
The UK government warned Sunday against all but essential travel to Jeddah and Dammam, as well as to all Saudi airports except for Medina. It suggested British citizens consider departing Saudi Arabia via land to neighboring countries.
The US Embassy in Riyadh also tightened its travel guidance on Monday, saying US government employees now require special authorization to use any airport in Saudi Arabia. It urged US citizens to exercise “extreme caution” if using Saudi airports and noted that Americans had been detained for photographing the aftermath of recent attacks.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Sunday told US airlines to exercise caution when flying to or over Saudi Arabia, citing safety threats and navigation system interference.
Saudi Arabia’s Gulf neighbors have condemned the attacks and some have called for unified action against the Houthis.
“Our security is indivisible,” said United Arab Emirates presidential adviser Anwar Gargash on Monday. Targeting Saudi Arabia “undermines the security of the UAE and all Gulf states,” and there was a “pressing need to revive joint Gulf action” in security and defense, Gargash said on X.
The attacks have exposed vulnerabilities in the kingdom’s defense capabilities as it wages an air campaign in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is fighting the Houthis on the ground.
With Iranian assistance, the Houthis have built up a large arsenal of missiles, including ballistic weapons, as well as a range of drones, capable of reaching all of the Kingdom.
The Houthis on Sunday reiterated a warning to all airlines and travelers against using Saudi airports and airspace, “as they are vulnerable to targeting … with the exception of Mecca and Medina airports.”
‘We’ll make a decision’
Trump said Saturday he plans to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman following the attack.
“They’re able to defend. The Saudis are good fighters. But I think the attack was a terrible thing,” Trump said when asked whether Saudi Arabia could defend itself against the Houthis.
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Asked outside the White House whether Washington planned to join Saudi strikes on the Houthis, Trump said: “We may. We’re going to look at it.”
On Monday, Trump said he had since spoken with the crown prince. He did not elaborate on the content of their conversation, but described the Houthis as “misbehaving very badly.”
Last month, Trump rejected two appeals from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for US strikes against the Houthis.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed a US citizen was among those killed and said the attacks showed “a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life,” in a post on X.
Saudi miscalculations
The civil war in Yemen flared up this summer and intensified last month after years of relative calm.
In retaliation for a Saudi blockade on the Yemeni capital Sanaa, the Houthis announced in July they would target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, and began a campaign of missile attacks against Saudi infrastructure, including oil refineries.
Last month, they conducted a lightning offensive along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, capturing the port of Mocha and closing in on Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city.
That led the Saudi-backed Yemeni government based in Aden to launch a major offensive, but it has struggled to retake much ground. On Monday, it claimed its forces had carried out 1,879 strikes on Houthi targets and killed about 950 fighters within the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi-run Health Ministry said Monday that 107 people had been killed and 278 wounded, most of them women and children, by Saudi attacks across 13 provinces since September 3. CNN cannot independently verify either side’s figures.
Saudi Arabia has for 11 years tried to contain the conflict on its southern border through both force and diplomacy – first waging war with the Houthis, then pursuing talks including with their backer, Tehran.
Despite the efforts, a series of miscalculations has left Riyadh exposed to further conflict in Yemen, experts say.
Saudi Arabia ended its longstanding partnership with the UAE late last year over its backing of a rival force in Yemen, misjudged Trump’s willingness to back it if it needed support, and struggled to organize armed factions fighting the Houthis.
The escalation threatens Saudi Arabia’s broader ambitions to become an international destination for business and tourism.
On Sunday, the Saudi energy ministry said the World Petroleum Congress began as scheduled in Riyadh. Several major oil companies – including Shell and BP – were not represented.
CNN’s Ibrahim Dahman, Michael Williams and Mostafa Salem contributed reporting.
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