A missile struck Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on 10 October, and Saudi authorities said at least 12 people were killed and more than 300 wounded (CBS News, NPR, ABC News). The Houthis claimed the attack. Al Jazeera and the New York Times reported it as the second attack on the airport in a week; DW and the Financial Times reported that operations were suspended. NPR reported that Trump is weighing joining the fight against the Houthis. Airlines cancelled flights.
An attack that kills a dozen and wounds hundreds at a capital's main airport is a large escalation, and it draws the United States closer to the war.
Flights through Riyadh may be cancelled for days; Kenyans working in Saudi Arabia should follow embassy advice. Oil prices may rise, which would reach Kenya's pump prices.
Saudi Arabia says it will respond and the coalition is carrying out operations in Yemen.
The Houthis say they are answering Saudi-backed attacks and a campaign against them.
Treat casualty figures as Saudi authorities' numbers. Watch whether the US joins the strikes and how oil reacts on Monday.
CBS News, NPR, ABC News, Al Jazeera, The New York Times, DW, Financial Times (10 Oct 2026)
Houthi missile strike on Riyadh airport kills at least 12 and wounds more than 300, Saudi authorities say
The attack on Saturday closed the airport and set off flight cancellations across the region. Donald Trump condemned it and said he is weighing whether to join Saudi strikes on the Houthis.
At least 12 people were killed and more than 300 wounded when a missile hit Riyadh's airport on Saturday 10 October, Saudi authorities said, according to CBS News, NPR and ABC News. The Houthis of Yemen claimed the attack. Al Jazeera and the New York Times described it as the second attack on King Khalid International Airport in a week; DW and the Financial Times reported that Saudi Arabia suspended operations at the airport, and early reports from several outlets had put the injured at "dozens", before the toll rose.
NPR reported that Trump is weighing joining the fight against the Houthis, and El Universal that he called the attack "unacceptable". Airlines cancelled flights to Riyadh, the Economic Times reported that Air India and Air India Express extended cancellations, and Spiegel reported that the German government advised against flights over Riyadh. This is a separate and larger attack than the one on 7 to 9 October in which Saudi authorities counted three dead. For Kenya, the effects are on air travel through Gulf hubs and on oil, with the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority's next price review due on Wednesday 14 October.