Yemen’s Houthis have claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack that killed one person and injured nearly a dozen others at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh – the day after another attack killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
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attack → claim → 300
The attacks mark one of the most significant disruptions to Saudi civil aviation in years and the deadliest assault on Saudi soil in more than a decade, as Yemeni government forces are also targeting airfields in Houthi-controlled territory.
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forces → mark → territory
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list of 3 items- list 1 of 3Is the Yemen war entering a new phase?
- list 2 of 3Iran urges Saudi Arabia to pursue diplomacy after Houthis escalate attacks
- list 3 of 3Saudi Arabia says 1 dead, 11 injured in latest attack on Riyadh airport
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11 → enter → airport
The sharp escalation in the war’s new front comes amid fighting between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, following the collapse of a United Nations-brokered ceasefire largely in place since 2022.
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escalation → come → 2022
Which Saudi airports have the Houthis hit?
- King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh:
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Houthis → hit → Riyadh
The airport in the Saudi capital has been struck four times in the past five days.
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airport → strike → days
Saudi authorities reported that one person was killed and eight wounded on October 7 .
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eight → report → October
The following day, a raid killed an airline pilot and two other Saudi citizens, with several others wounded.
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others → kill → pilot
Houthis claimed an attack on the airport in Dammam, the industrial port city on the Gulf coast, on Sunday.
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Houthis → claim → Sunday
On October 7 , two people were killed and 28 wounded in an attack on facilities at the airport
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28 → kill → airport
, the civil aviation authority said.
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authority → say → ?
On October 6 , Saudi authorities reported attacks on the southern airport that injured three people.
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that → report → people
The same day, Saudi authorities said Najran Airport was hit and reported minor injuries.
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Airport → say → injuries
Have Yemeni forces hit Houthi-held airports too?
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forces → hit → airports
Houthi-run media on Sunday reported “Saudi” air strikes targeting areas in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, held by the Iran-backed armed group.
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media → report → group
The reports said the attacks targeted the Airport Road area of Sanaa’s al-Thawra district, as well as the Hamdan district.
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attacks → say → district
Yemeni government forces backed by Saudi Arabia also hit Sanaa airport on July 13 with at least five munitions in a series of air attacks, three of which directly struck the only working runway.
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three → back → runway
The Houthis have controlled Sanaa and parts of northwestern Yemen since 2014.
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Houthis → control → 2014
Battles are raging around the southern cities of Mocha and Dhubab, which are on the Red Sea coast and strategically important for control of the Bab al-Mandeb strait.
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which → rag → strait
The vital shipping chokepoint has become an important alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iranian attacks have raised the costs and risks for oil tanker operators.
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attacks → become → operators
Why are Houthis attacking Saudi airports?
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Houthis → attack → airports
The attacks have emptied skies over the Saudi capital Riyadh, as authorities extended the suspension of operations at the city’s international airport, the second-busiest after Jeddah.
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authorities → empty → Jeddah
Lufthansa has cancelled all flights to Riyadh until October 16 , while Air France-KLM extended its previous suspension of services to and from the Saudi capital until the end of the month.
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KLM → cancel → month
The UK, France and Germany have warned their citizens to avoid Riyadh.
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UK → warn → Riyadh
The disruption comes as the country hosts two major Saudi energy and investment conferences.
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country → come → conferences
Organisers of the World Petroleum Congress (WPC), set to host top global oil executives and policymakers from Sunday to Thursday, said it was proceeding as planned.
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it → set → Thursday
The Future Investment Initiative, launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the kingdom’s flagship investment conference a decade ago, would also proceed as planned from October 26-29 .
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Initiative → launch → October
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told the WPC that the kingdom’s resilience had been put to the test, but sought to reassure attendees at the high-profile conference that its response would be “equally serious”.
The kingdom, which is preparing to host the 2032 FIFA World Cup, has long sought to market itself as a secure destination for major events, global tourism and investments.
Hisham al-Omeisy, a conflict analyst and adviser at the European Institute of Peace, predicted that the Houthis would escalate attacks to include oil pipelines and energy facilities – and continue attacks on airports because of the strong “public response” to hitting such targets.
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Houthis → tell → targets
“Houthis have escalated massively, they’ve crossed that line…
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they → escalate → line
they have their own frameworks, their own calculations and stopping at attacking a civilian airport is not one of those calculations,” al-Omeisy told Al Jazeera.
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Omeisy → have → Jazeera
“They are a maximalist group and they’re there to do whatever they need to do to get to what they want,” the analyst said, including “more concessions from the Saudis.
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analyst → ’re → Saudis
Why are Yemeni forces attacking Houthi-held airports?
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forces → attack → airports
The Yemeni capital hosts the only airport providing international flights to and from Houthi-controlled territory, where the majority of Yemen’s population lives.
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majority → host → population
The Houthi-run broadcaster also reported attacks on Thursday on Hodeidah International Airport on the Red Sea coast, without specifying the extent of the damage.
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broadcaster → report → damage
Yemeni representatives at the UN have claimed that those airports are being used to shuttle Houthi delegations to and from Iran, which backs the group.
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which → claim → group
According to the government of Yemen, the attacks have hit airport facilities to prevent Iranian flights from landing there.
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attacks → accord → flights
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