Saudi authorities said, according to the Financial Times, the New York Times and the Mirror, that a Houthi missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, October 10 left 12 dead and more than 300 injured. The Straits Times reported the sound of an explosion at the airport and airlines cancelling more flights. This came after Thursday’s attack, which killed three Saudis including an airline captain. We have not seen an independent toll or a Houthi claim of responsibility for Saturday’s attack.
The attack hits civil aviation in the capital of the largest oil exporter, and raises risks for travellers and markets.
Check the status of your flights to Saudi Arabia and follow airline notices.
Riyadh sees the targeting of civilians as a crime and says the coalition will respond.
The Houthis say their attacks are a response to coalition strikes.
A civilian toll of this size changes the nature of the war. We are watching the final toll, the coalition’s response and the airport’s status.
Financial Times, New York Times, Mirror, Straits Times (October 10, 2026)
Toll from Houthi missile attack on King Khalid airport in Riyadh rises to 12 dead and more than 300 injured, according to Saudi authorities
The attack came on Saturday, October 10, two days after Thursday’s attack that killed three Saudis, including an airline captain. This is the Saudi authorities’ toll; we have not seen an independent one.
Saudi authorities said, according to the Financial Times, the New York Times and the Mirror, that a Houthi missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, October 10 left 12 dead and more than 300 injured. The Straits Times published a report headlined that a loud explosion was heard at Riyadh airport and that airlines had cancelled more flights.
This follows Thursday’s attack on October 8, which killed three Saudis including an airline captain, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation, and earlier attacks on Saudi airports that killed three foreigners and injured 36 at the start of the week. The Houthis had claimed responsibility for Thursday’s attack.
We have not seen a Houthi claim of responsibility for Saturday’s attack, nor a detailed statement identifying who was responsible, nor the names or nationalities of the victims. It matters to the Egyptian reader in two ways: Egyptians working and performing umrah in Saudi Arabia, and the oil markets, which are affected by any threat. Watching today: a final toll, Saudi civil aviation data on the airport’s status, the coalition’s response, and the opening of the markets.