Australia condemns Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and warns against travel via Riyadh airport

Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Monday, 12 October, condemned the "unacceptable" attacks the Houthis are carrying out against civilians in Saudi Arabia, and advised Australian citizens not to travel via King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

The minister wrote on platform X: "Australia condemns the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including those that targeted Riyadh airport and claimed the lives of a large number of innocent people."

Riyadh airport was struck again on Sunday, killing one person and wounding others, days after an unprecedented attack on Saturday that killed 13; the Houthis said they carried out extensive operations targeting two airports and two energy facilities in the kingdom.

The Houthis, through their military spokesman Yahya Sarea, announced they had launched wide-ranging attacks over the past 24 hours that hit Riyadh airport in three phases, Dammam airport, and two facilities belonging to oil company Aramco.

The coalition said a projectile struck King Khalid International Airport and ignited a fire there, adding that air defences also intercepted a missile in the vicinity of the airport. The attack killed one person and injured 11 others, according to the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation, which said material damage is being assessed.

Reports emerged that the death toll from the strike on the airport on Saturday rose to 13 after the Indian embassy in Riyadh announced the death of one of its nationals, who had been wounded in the attack.

Specialist flight-tracking reports said authorities extended the closure of the capital’s airport by an additional 24 hours until 21:00 GMT on Monday. Residents also reported hearing several explosions in the capital on Sunday.

On Sunday evening, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation announced that Dammam airport had been attacked. While Al-Maliki confirmed the coalition shot down a drone in the eastern kingdom, the coalition said in the early hours of Monday that it had intercepted and destroyed a missile headed toward Khamis Mushait in the south of the kingdom.