Three Saudi nationals killed in Houthi attacks on Riyadh airport

The missile attacks come amid an escalation in fighting between the Iran-backed group and Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen's government. Three Saudi Arabian nationals have been killed in two attacks on the international airport in the capital, Riyadh, the country's civil aviation authority has said, after Yemen's Houthis said they had targeted the facility. The attacks also resulted in "injuries to a number of Saudi citizens and residents of various nationalities", the General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement on X. It added that the first attack on Thursday targeted the airport while the second had struck an aircraft belonging to state carrier Saudia. One of its pilots was among those killed, the airline said in a statement.

Air traffic had returned to normal, the civil aviation authority said. Yemen's Houthi group said on Thursday it had attacked the airport with two ballistic missiles. The Iran-aligned group said it had also targeted an airport in Najran city near the Saudi border with Yemen, and Khamis Mushait air base further north. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed these attacks. The latest casualties follow the deaths of three people in Houthi attacks on two Saudi airports on 6 and 7 October. Two were killed and 28 wounded in an attack at Abha International Airport, the civil aviation body said on Wednesday.