Houthis Launch Missile Barrage Hours After Partial Reopening
In a dramatic escalation threatening regional commercial aviation across the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen's Houthi movement launched a coordinated barrage of ballistic missiles and armed drones targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, striking within hours of civil aviation authorities attempting to restore partial flight operations. While the Saudi-led coalition’s multi-layered air defense batteries successfully engaged and intercepted inbound threats over the capital—destroying a total of 12 ballistic missiles and two explosive drones across multiple regional vectors—the attack triggered renewed disruption across primary civilian transit arteries. In addition to targeting the kingdom's primary international aviation hub in Riyadh, the complex cross-border assault simultaneously targeted King Khalid Air Base situated in Khamis Mushait and an active naval installation operated by the Saudi Border Guard along the southern maritime perimeter of Jazan, marking an aggressive intensification of strikes deep into sovereign Saudi infrastructure.
Brief Reprieve Shattered: Drone and Missile Salvo Hits Following Terminal Reopening
The offensive struck right as airport administrative authorities attempted to ease passenger backlogs, having previously declared that domestic flight services would resume out of Terminal 1 while designated international flights operated by national carriers would commence through Terminal 2. That limited operational window was abruptly compromised as militant projectiles tracked toward the capital's perimeter, forcing immediate security alerts and prompting coalition air defense batteries to shoot down an inbound ballistic missile and two attack drones directly threatening the metropolitan Riyadh region. According to certified military situation reports shared by the Xinhua news agency, coalition interceptors neutralized 12 incoming ballistic missiles across the theater over a 24-hour window, successfully averting mass casualties on the tarmac even as the repeated proximity of missile strikes compounds logistical strain on global air traffic networks navigating Gulf airspace.
'No Longer Safe': Houthi Military Issues Threat to Global Airlines and Oil Hubs
Following the strikes, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree issued an explicit warning across social media platform X, declaring King Khalid International Airport an active military target and advising international and regional air carriers to halt passenger and cargo routes into the facility immediately. Saree stated that the airport premises are no longer safe for crews or travelers, issuing a broader travel advisory across Saudi Arabian airspace that explicitly excludes only the holy cities of Mecca and Medina from targeting parameters. Concurrently, regional bulletins broadcast by the Houthi-aligned Saba news agency warned industrial workforces and local civilians to maintain immediate clearance from strategic Saudi petroleum installations, warning corporate shareholders that continued financial exposure to the kingdom's energy and infrastructure assets could yield devastating capital losses as cross-border missile offensives continue.
