Three Saudi citizens were killed in attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 8, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said. One of the dead was Saudia captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami. The first attack hit airport facilities and the second struck an aircraft; a Saudia plane was damaged on the ground with no passengers aboard.
The Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed they targeted the airport with a ballistic missile, though the Saudi statement did not name those responsible. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh and another toward Khamis Mushait. Hundreds of flights were canceled, and operations returned to normal by 6 p.m. the same day.
It is the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and allied forces launched a major offensive against the Iran-backed Houthis last weekend. The airport has been hit several times in recent days, and the toll may still change.