RIYADH, Thursday, October 15, 2026 — The Saudi-led coalition said on Thursday that Houthi forces had attempted to strike dozens of airports, ports and oil facilities across the kingdom this month, as the conflict with Yemen’s Iran-aligned group intensified into its second week of open fighting.
Coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Turki al-Maliki told a press conference that the Houthis had launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh during October alone, killing 17 people and wounding 333 others. The casualty figures are the first official toll the coalition has released for the airport campaign.
Abha airport toll and advanced weapons
Al-Maliki said Houthi attacks on Abha airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia, near the Yemeni border, had killed three people and wounded 28 more. He added that the Houthis had acquired advanced military technology with the help of “regional actors”, including ballistic missiles, drones and explosive-laden fast boats.
The spokesman said the coalition had destroyed 127 weapons storage facilities and launch platforms in Yemen’s mountainous areas. He called on the Houthis to immediately halt operations targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and said the group should read the coalition’s statement carefully and “between the lines”.
Houthis renew airline warning; Riyadh accuses Iran
Shortly after the coalition’s statement, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe, renewing a warning to airlines — while excluding airspace over the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
Separately, a Saudi foreign ministry official accused Iran on Thursday of encouraging the Houthis in the latest escalation, saying Tehran continues to arm and train the group in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Deputy minister for public diplomacy Dr Rayed Krimly told a virtual briefing with reporters that the kingdom remained in direct communication with Iran but that Tehran appeared unwilling to offer concessions, and accused the Houthis of refusing to meet in Oman in recent weeks.
Widening conflict
Yemen’s civil war reignited in July after a UN-brokered truce collapsed, months into a wider Middle East confrontation that has roiled energy supplies and markets. The coalition has fought the Houthis since 2015 after they seized the capital Sanaa and forced out the internationally recognised government.
Fighting continued across the region on Thursday. The Houthis claimed a large-scale missile and drone operation against Aramco facilities in Dhahran and King Khalid airport, while Yemeni government forces said they had carried out thousands of strikes on Houthi positions. Aid agencies warned that hospitals across Yemen are struggling with a sharp rise in casualties, and the UN World Food Programme said more than 600,000 people in the encircled city of Taiz are cut off from assistance.
Reporting from Reuters, Dawn and CGTN; all figures attributed to official statements.
