The General Authority of Civil Aviation announced that King Khalid Airport was subjected to a new attack on the afternoon of Sunday, October 11 that caused casualties. The coalition spokesman said a projectile hit Terminal 4 and caused a fire and that a cruise missile was destroyed near the airport (Saudi Gazette, Okaz, Al-Watan, Bloomberg). In the evening the Authority announced that King Fahd Airport in Dammam was attacked, with damage assessment under way (Okaz, Sky News Arabia, Al Arabiya). The Houthis claimed responsibility for the Riyadh attack and said they struck Dammam airport and Aramco facilities (Sky News Arabia, Le Monde, France 24). Saturday’s strike killed 12 and wounded 309 according to the Authority, then the toll rose to 13 according to Saudi officials (Sydney Morning Herald), and the airport was closed and its closure extended (Associated Press, Politico). We found no Saudi confirmation that Aramco facilities were hit.
The targeting moved from one airport to two airports and possible energy facilities in 24 hours, which threatens air traffic in the capital and the Eastern Province and energy security together.
If you have a flight through Riyadh or Dammam, check its status with the carrier, follow your embassy’s warnings and the Saudi authorities, and avoid sharing unverified clips.
Saudi Arabia and the coalition say the attacks are terrorist and a war crime and that the response will be decisive.
The Houthis say Saudi airspace is an arena of operations and have warned airlines and travelers.
The scale of the danger grew with the number of targets, not the number of missiles alone. The test today: what the coalition’s response is, how the two airports are reopened, and whether Washington steps in. We remain reserved on the damage at Dammam and Aramco until the official bodies announce it.
Saudi Gazette, Okaz, Al-Watan, Bloomberg, Sky News Arabia, Al Arabiya, Le Monde, France 24, Associated Press, Politico (October 11, 2026)
New attack on King Khalid Airport a day after a strike that killed 13; the Houthis announce they targeted the Riyadh and Dammam airports and Aramco facilities
The coalition said a projectile started a fire in Terminal 4 at Riyadh airport on Sunday afternoon, and the General Authority of Civil Aviation said Dammam airport was attacked in the evening, while the closure of the capital’s airport was extended.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation announced that King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was subjected to a new attack on the afternoon of Sunday, October 11 that caused casualties, and that it is completing its assessment of the damage. The spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, said a projectile hit Terminal 4 and caused a fire, and that air defenses destroyed a cruise missile in the airport’s vicinity, according to Saudi Gazette, Okaz, Al-Watan and Bloomberg. AFP reported that its journalists and residents heard two explosions in the capital.
In the evening the Authority announced that King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in the east of the kingdom, was attacked, and that damage assessment is under way, according to Okaz, Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the coalition intercepted a ballistic missile and a drone heading toward al-Kharj and the Eastern Province. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the Riyadh attack, and said they struck Dammam airport and Aramco facilities in the Eastern Province, according to Sky News Arabia, Le Monde and France 24. We found no Saudi confirmation that Aramco facilities were hit, so we treat it as a claim.
The Authority had announced the toll of Saturday’s strike, October 10: 12 dead and 309 wounded, the deadliest on the kingdom’s soil in more than a decade according to CBS, and it occurred without an alert from the warning system according to The Japan Times. The toll then rose to 13 after an Indian died of his wounds, according to the Sydney Morning Herald citing Saudi officials, a figure also reported by Le Monde, Livemint and France 24. Among the victims and the wounded are workers and residents: a Jordanian father of two, an Egyptian flight attendant, four Filipinos wounded, three of them in intensive care, and eleven Indians.
The new wave comes a week after the attacks on Saudi airports: on Thursday, October 8 the Authority said three Saudis, among them a captain with Saudia, were killed in strikes on Riyadh airport, which was reopened on Friday. On the Yemeni front, the chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, said his government is moving ahead with Saudi Arabia to end the Houthi threat, and the Yemeni army said it retook positions in Taiz and carried out raids in Marib, according to Okaz and Antara. The former Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, called for an urgent meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Riyadh, according to Okaz.
As for reactions, the closure of Riyadh airport was extended according to the Associated Press and Politico, the Houthis renewed their warning to airlines, travelers and workers against using Saudi airports according to Reuters, and the coalition vowed to respond. The Washington Post said Riyadh has pledged a major response. Health Minister Fahad al-Jalajel visited the wounded in the capital’s hospitals.
In DailyDrop’s reading, the targeting widened within 24 hours from one airport to two airports and possible energy facilities, which raises aviation and energy risks together, and the toll in Dammam and at Aramco remains unannounced. Today, Monday, we are following: the coalition’s response, the reopening of the two airports, Washington’s decision, and the opening of the Saudi market.