Explosions rattled the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on Thursday as the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen claimed to have attacked the city’s international airport for the second time this week.
The kingdom has been left reeling, with the Saudi authorities saying on Wednesday that Houthi strikes on airports in Riyadh and Abha, a city in the south of the country, had killed three people and injured dozens more.
The attacks are the deadliest on Saudi Arabia since the war with the Houthis reignited in recent weeks and threaten to widen a conflict that has entangled multiple countries and strained energy markets. Oil prices rose sharply on Thursday, with Brent crude, the global benchmark, up more than 5 percent.
The instability snarled air traffic, with around one in four departures from Saudi airports and dozens of inbound flights canceled, according to data from the aviation analytics firm Cirium. The Lufthansa Group suspended flights to Riyadh up to Oct. 16, the company said. And Air India’s flights to the Saudi capital were also paused, according to the Indian Embassy there.
The Saudi authorities said on Thursday that they had intercepted two ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh and that fragments of munitions had fallen onto a children’s nursery and a medical clinic. It was unclear if there were any casualties.
A Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in statements Thursday that the militia had targeted Riyadh’s international airport, another airport in Najran and a Saudi air base near Khamis Mushait in the country’s south. He said the missile attacks had struck a target at the Riyadh airport and disrupted air traffic, without elaborating.
The Saudi authorities did not respond to questions on the Houthis’ claims.
The New York Times has verified two videos circulating on social media that showed a thick plume of black smoke billowing over Riyadh’s airport, which has announced dozens of flight cancellations.
The targeting of Riyadh has raised pressure on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, to resolve the escalating conflict as the fighting threatens his plans to turn the country into a business and tourism hub. Riyadh is set to host several international events in the coming weeks, including an annual investment summit hosted by Prince Mohammed that is typically attended by world leaders, billionaires and top global executives.
Saudi Arabia announced a new bombing campaign in Yemen this week against the Houthis, who have vowed to fight back by hitting airports and energy infrastructure.
Prince Mohammed has also sought to secure greater military support from allies, including the United States, which is providing significant assistance to the kingdom’s bombing campaign.
The fighting could entangle more parties, after Pakistan and Turkey this week activated a defense pact to provide military support to Saudi Arabia. A senior Pakistani military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters, said on Wednesday that Pakistani fighter jets were being used in strikes against the Houthis.
It was unclear if foreign military intervention would temper attacks by the Houthis, who have survived years of bombing campaigns and have calculated that they can inflict greater pain on Saudi Arabia than the kingdom can on them.
A Times reporter in Riyadh heard several blasts in quick succession on Thursday morning. Two residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said workers at an office tower in the city had been told to evacuate. In recent days, the Saudi authorities have told residents not to share information related to missile and drone attacks, warning them of legal consequences.
The Houthis say that their attacks in Saudi Arabia are retaliation for attacks in Yemen.
The conflict in Yemen is being fought on multiple fronts. The internationally recognized government of Yemen, backed by Saudi warplanes, began a counteroffensive this week to retake strategically important territory along the Red Sea from the Houthis. The militia seized parts of the coast last month in a move that gave it greater control over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical global trade route.
The Houthis say they have made gains in the inland city of Taiz, a government stronghold.
A Yemeni government army officer in Taiz said that Houthi forces had effectively encircled the city and that residents were running out of gas and food supplies. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
A spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition, Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, said overnight that it had attacked dozens of Houthi military sites, including missile storage facilities and command centers, in retaliation for the airport strikes on Wednesday. The Houthis did not respond to that claim.
The latest round of fighting has plunged Saudi Arabia and the Houthis back into open conflict, and nearly 200,000 Yemenis have been displaced since September, when the fighting intensified, according to the United Nations.
In 2015, Saudi Arabia led a disastrous campaign against the Houthis in a bid to restore Yemen’s government, which had been driven out of the capital, Sanaa, by the militia.
The war led to hundreds of thousands of deaths and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, until the two sides agreed to a tenuous truce in 2022.
Senator Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, who met with Prince Mohammed on Monday in Riyadh and publicly opposed the kingdom’s last campaign in Yemen, said that it was unclear what the kingdom’s long-term objectives are in its renewed military campaign.
“They want to win back the territory that they’ve lost, and I think the open question is whether they have clear goals beyond that,” Mr. Murphy told reporters. “I think history tells us that this military conflict, whoever starts it, is a disaster for the people of Yemen, for the region, and for the United States.”
Analysts said the attacks on Riyadh in recent days would make it more likely that the Saudi government would intensify its bombing campaign in Yemen.
“The latest attack just gives them more international support for any military operation they would do against the Houthis,” said Farea al-Muslimi, a Yemen specialist at Chatham House, a London-based research group.
President Trump has rebuffed Saudi government requests to direct American airstrikes. But more than 200 U.S. intelligence and military analysts are assisting the Saudi government in command centers inside the kingdom, helping to analyze and select targets in support of its Yemeni allies, according to one current and one former U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters. The United States is also providing aerial refueling for Saudi warplanes conducting defensive air patrols, they added.
Last month, Britain also promised to offer limited aerial refueling to Saudi warplanes for defensive purposes. It is unclear if that will extend to the new campaign. France said last month that it would send troops and other military assets to protect Saudi energy infrastructure on the Red Sea.
Saeed Al-Batati contributed reporting from al-Mukalla, Yemen, and Pranav Baskar contributed reporting from New York.
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