Saudi Airport Struck Again as Pakistani Resident Killed

Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority confirmed that King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was attacked again, killing a Pakistani resident and wounding eleven other people.

The strike came on Sunday, one day after a previous attack on the same airport killed three civilians.

The Saudi-led coalition said a ballistic missile was intercepted over the northern outskirts of Riyadh. Flight tracking data showed brief disruptions to flight operations around the airport.

Yemen’s Houthi group claimed responsibility. Its military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a social media statement that the group fired ballistic missiles and drones at King Khalid International Airport.

Saree also claimed the Houthis attacked a Saudi Aramco fuel facility near Riyadh airport, along with Abha airport and the Khamis Mushait airbase in the southwest.

Saudi authorities erected new cage-like fencing around the Aramco facility near Riyadh airport.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War analyzed that “the Houthis believe that by striking civilian infrastructure such as oil facilities and airports, they can maximize Saudi economic costs and force Saudi Arabia to submit to Houthi demands.”

The attacks came as the Saudi-led coalition and Yemeni government forces launched a major ground and air offensive aimed at retaking territory the Houthis seized a month ago along the Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

Those positions allow the Houthis to better monitor their blockade campaign against Saudi-linked shipping.