Houthi missile attack on Riyadh airport kills 12 and injures 309. Saudi Arabia vows a response and Trump says he will “look at” joining
A missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, October 10, killed at least 12 people and injured 309, Saudi civil aviation authorities said, as reported by AP, the Washington Post and Asharq Al-Awsat. The Saudi-led coalition said Yemen’s Houthis were responsible and called the strike a war crime, according to Al Jazeera and the Post. ABC said it was the third attack on the airport in recent days and that flights in and out of Riyadh were suspended. On Sunday, Stuff and Global News reported that Saudi Arabia extended the closure and moved Riyadh schools online, and ABC said the Houthis warned that “worse is yet to come”. Trump said he is “going to look at” joining Saudi Arabia in the fight against the Houthis, CNBC reported. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres, EU foreign-policy chief Kaja Kallas and several governments condemned the attack. Reuters said Saudi shares fell.
A mass-casualty strike on the capital’s main airport is a sharp escalation in a regional conflict in which Iran and its partners are fighting Saudi Arabia and the United States. It threatens aviation, Gulf oil and shipping, and could draw in Washington more directly.
If you have travel booked through the Gulf, check the Smartraveller advice for Saudi Arabia and with your airline: Riyadh flights are suspended and the Houthis have warned against using Saudi airports. For your budget, a jump in crude would reach Australian petrol prices with a lag of a week or two.
Riyadh and its allies say the attack was a war crime that demands a firm response, and that restraint invites more strikes.
Regional analysts and some Western officials warn that a bigger response could widen the war and put Gulf energy facilities and civilian travellers at greater risk.
Watch four things: whether the coalition strikes back and where, what Trump decides after he “looks at” joining, whether Riyadh airport reopens, and how Brent and WTI crude open on Monday after Friday’s WTI close of US$91.85. The Houthis’ claim of an attack on Sanaa airport, reported by Houthi-linked media, has one source and stays out of the story.
DailyDrop Australia edition No. 8 · Morning · MON., OCT. 12, 2026