Houthi-linked strikes have hit Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport twice in two days. Saturday’s attack killed 12 to 13 people and injured more than 300, including an Indian man from Hyderabad who later died of his wounds. On Sunday, a fresh strike on the airport killed one more person and wounded 11. The same day, two tankers were hit near the Strait of Hormuz, leaving two Indian seafarers missing. India has condemned both sets of attacks.
Saturday: the deadliest airport attack in over a decade
On October 10, a missile struck the airport complex housing terminals 3 and 4, which handle domestic flights. Footage released by Saudi state television showed religious pilgrims lined up at a gate when a bright orange flash sent people running in panic. Parts of the roof caved in, Reuters reported.
The toll: 12 people dead and more than 300 injured, according to NDTV’s report on India’s response. The Times of India put the death toll at 13. Among the dead were four Saudi citizens, two people from Bangladesh, and one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, and Egypt, the Saudi civil aviation authority said. India condemned what its foreign ministry called the “dastardly attack” of October 10.
The Houthis claimed responsibility on Sunday. Their military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said the group had “targeted in three phases King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh,” which he claimed led to “the disruption of air traffic and the complete closure of the airport,” The Statesman reported. The Houthis are Yemen’s Iran-backed rebel group, fighting a war against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
Sunday: the airport was hit again
On October 11, a projectile struck Terminal 4 and set off a fire, the Saudi-led coalition said. One person was killed and 11 were wounded, according to Saudi authorities cited by Haaretz and Reuters. ETV Bharat, citing AFP, reported the person killed was a Pakistani resident.
Saudi air defences also intercepted a cruise missile near the airport, a drone in the country’s Eastern Province, and a ballistic missile heading toward Khamis Mushait, Reuters reported. Emergency alerts were even issued in Abha, in the south, early on Monday.
The airport — hit four times in five days, Haaretz noted — stayed closed. The shutdown was extended by 24 hours until Monday evening, according to the tracking site Flightradar24, cited by ETV Bharat.
The Indian who didn’t make it home
The Indian who died was Mohammed Yusuf, 46, an IT professional from Mehdipatnam in Hyderabad. He was waiting with his family near a check-in kiosk to travel to Madina for Umrah when the projectile hit, The Times of India reported. Debris fell on him. He died later in hospital. His wife and two children, who were with him, were in critical condition.
Eleven other Indians were injured in the attack, according to the Indian Embassy in Riyadh. “We convey our heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased,” the embassy said in a statement, adding it would help bring his body home quickly. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar wrote on X: “Deeply grieved at the loss of life of an Indian national in the Riyadh attack.”
For the large Indian community in Saudi Arabia, an attack on that airport feels personal.
Two ships hit near Hormuz, two Indian sailors missing
On the same day, October 11, two commercial tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz region. MT Petro Dolphin, a Nicaragua-flagged tanker, was reportedly struck by a drone at Sohar Anchorage in Oman. Two of the 11 Indian seafarers on board are missing; nine were rescued and are safe, Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal said on X. The local Coast Guard is searching for the two missing Indians.
The second ship, MT Valthera — a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker — was hit by an unknown projectile that caused a fire on board. All 11 Indian seafarers on that ship are safe, the MEA said.
The Indian Embassy in Muscat is coordinating with Omani authorities and the ship companies to find the missing sailors and help the rest of the crew, according to the MEA.
This waterway is where a large share of the world’s oil moves. Attacks here have pushed crude prices up before — and with the rupee near its all-time low, any oil shock lands harder on India’s fuel bill. (Read: why the rupee keeps falling.)
How India responded
India condemned both incidents in unusually strong language. On the airport attacks, the MEA said: “We strongly condemn the repeated attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport over the past few days… The repeated attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are completely unacceptable and must cease immediately.”
On the ship attacks, the ministry said: “We condemn the attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz region on 11 October 2026.” It added that “attacks on commercial vessels, seafarers and civilian infrastructure must cease” and called for de-escalation through dialogue.
Why is this escalating now?
The timing isn’t random. On October 5, the Saudi-led coalition announced aerial support for “Operation Dawn of Yemen,” the Yemeni government forces’ mission against the Houthis, Le Monde reported. Since then, Saudi airports have been targeted almost daily, the paper said.
The Houthi strategy is spelled out openly. As Le Monde put it: if no aircraft can land at the airport in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, the same should apply in Saudi Arabia. A blockade for a blockade. The group has warned airlines not to fly to Saudi airports.
What happens next
As of Monday morning, the search for the two missing Indian seafarers was still on. The Riyadh airport was due to stay shut until Monday evening. India’s embassy in Riyadh is working on bringing Mohammed Yusuf’s body home, and its embassy in Muscat is tracking the rescue at sea.
Saudi Arabia, hit by its deadliest attack in more than a decade, is weighing its response. The Houthis are threatening more strikes. For now, the region’s airports and sea lanes stay on edge.
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