Three Saudis Killed in Houthi Strikes on Riyadh Airport — SkimNews
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- Yemen's Houthis claimed two ballistic missile attacks on Riyadh's international airport, killing three Saudi nationals including a Saudia airline pilot and wounding citizens and residents of multiple nationalities, per the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation
- Saudi civil aviation officials said the second strike hit an aircraft belonging to state carrier Saudia, though air traffic had returned to normal as of Thursday
- The Houthis also claimed attacks on Najran airport near the Saudi-Yemen border and the Khamis Mushait air base further north, which Saudi Arabia has not confirmed
- Earlier Houthi strikes on Oct. 6 and 7 killed three people at Abha International Airport and King Khalid airport in Riyadh, with Wednesday's Abha attack wounding 28
- Houthi forces seized strategic stretches of Yemen's Red Sea coast including the port of Mokha on the Bab al-Mandab Strait — a chokepoint for global shipping — though pro-government Yemeni forces say they have since "secured" the strait
- The Saudi-led coalition formed in 2015 has been fighting the Houthis since; a 2022 ceasefire began unraveling in July when the Houthis announced a "maritime embargo" and resumed missile and drone strikes on Saudi airports, oil facilities, and Red Sea tankers
Why it matters: Three Saudi nationals — including a Saudia pilot — killed by ballistic missiles at Riyadh's main international airport marks a sharp escalation in the Houthis' ability to strike deep inside the kingdom. The pattern compounds vulnerabilities exposed by the Houthis' earlier seizure of Mokha on the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a global shipping chokepoint, signaling the 2022 ceasefire's collapse has expanded the conflict beyond Yemen's borders.
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