Houthis Strike Riyadh Airport, Aramco Refinery — SkimNews
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- Houthis claimed responsibility on October 5, 2026 for strikes on King Khalid International Airport, an Aramco refinery, and other Saudi targets, with loud explosions rattling Riyadh
- Saudi-led coalition flew 100 warplane sorties at dawn, destroyed Houthi weapons depots and naval mines at Hodeida, and drove Houthis from areas around the Bab al-Mandab Strait including Mocha port, Dhubab airport and Al-Omari military camp
- Pakistan and Turkiye pledged at an emergency Riyadh meeting to deploy troops to Saudi Arabia under a joint defense pact signed in August, though the statement did not specify what role the forces would fill
- Yemeni military carried out more than 1,000 strikes and began an offensive against Sanaa, while the UN said fighting has displaced more than 1,84,000 people
- Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London that global oil stockpiles were "scarily thin," on the same day an October 4 attack halted pumping by the East-West pipeline to the Red Sea
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's spokesman said he was "deeply concerned by the sharp escalation" and condemned the continued Houthi cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia
Why it matters: Saudi Arabia's allies are now formally committing troops under a mutual defense pact on the same day the world's largest oil exporter warns stockpiles are 'scarily thin' — meaning the conflict is simultaneously drawing in foreign militaries and tightening global energy supply. An attack already halted East-West pipeline pumping, adding a second supply shock on top of soaring crude prices.
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