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Saudi Arabia strikes oil depots in Yemen and says missiles launched toward location of Saudi Aramco HQ

13 October 2026 at 13:26

Civilians warned to leave target area near Sana’a before attacks as conflict between Riyadh and Houthi forces escalates

Saudi Arabia has launched a series of strikes on a strategic oil depot on the outskirts of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, while later on Tuesday it said it had intercepted missiles launched toward Dharan, location of the headquarters of the huge national energy company Saudi Aramco.

The attacks on both sides were a fresh escalation of the conflict between Riyadh and the Iran-backed Houthi forces. Before its offensive on Tuesday, a Saudi spokesperson warned civilians to leave the target area, in an apparent attempt to strike fear into the local population before the biggest attack so far on Houthi energy infrastructure.

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© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Saudi Arabia further suspends flights after latest deadly Houthi attack on airport

12 October 2026 at 11:42

Energy minister says ‘fear has no place in the Saudi lexicon’ as paramilitary group again breaches stretched defences

Saudi Arabia has been forced to suspend all flights to and from its main international airport in Riyadh until next Saturday after a further round of Houthi missile attacks caused more damage and left one person dead. Some airlines, including Gulf Air and Bahrain Air, had already said they were cancelling flights until next Saturday. More missiles were fired at Saudi Arabian cities by the Houthis on Monday, Saudi Arabian’s military spokesperson said.

The Gulf nation announced it was suspending flights from Riyadh, its second busiest airport, after Houthi missiles killed 13 people on Saturday and left more than 300 injured. Saudi state TV broadcast CCTV footage that showed passengers deluged in smoke and falling masonry as they queued at the airport terminal to board a plane just as the Houthi missile struck.

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© Photograph: Saudi Media Ministry/AP

© Photograph: Saudi Media Ministry/AP

© Photograph: Saudi Media Ministry/AP

Why are the Houthis attacking Saudi airports and how are the missiles getting through?

12 October 2026 at 09:41

Attacks by Iran-backed group come amid counteroffensive by Yemeni government supported by Riyadh

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© Composite: Saudi Ministry of Media/AFP/Getty Images; Saudi Ministry of Media/Reuters

© Composite: Saudi Ministry of Media/AFP/Getty Images; Saudi Ministry of Media/Reuters

© Composite: Saudi Ministry of Media/AFP/Getty Images; Saudi Ministry of Media/Reuters

The Gulf has entered a new era of instability. If its leaders think they can rely on old alliances, they are wrong | Nesrine Malik

12 October 2026 at 02:00

The latest attack by Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia may prove to be more calamitous for the region than the world imagines

On Saturday, Houthi rebels launched a shocking and deadly attack on Saudi Arabia’s capital city, Riyadh. At the time of writing, the missile strike on King Khalid international airport has killed at least 13 people and left 300 injured, marking a significant turn in a regional conflagration that is only getting more intense. It was the single most deadly attack on any Gulf country since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February. In Saudi Arabia, a country that is unaccustomed to such fatalities, the death toll is bewilderingly high and likely to prompt a bloody response.

Over the past year, the Gulf has entered a new era of instability that is not temporary and cannot be reversed. This may feel like an overstatement – casualties have been relatively low, after all, compared with Gaza and Iran – but the gradual erosion of peace and security in places such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE has changed the region more dramatically than its leaders would like to acknowledge.

Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnist

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© Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA

© Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA

© Photograph: Yahya Arhab/EPA

Canelo Álvarez ‘fears nothing’ and will fight in Riyadh despite deadly attacks, Al-Sheikh says

11 October 2026 at 16:42
  • Álvarez vows to fight in Riyadh despite deadly strikes

  • Airport attacks leave at least 12 dead, hundreds hurt

  • Mexican seeks redemption after Crawford defeat

Canelo Álvarez intends to go ahead with his world title fight in Saudi Arabia later this month despite a series of deadly attacks on airports and other infrastructure in the kingdom, according to Turki al-Sheikh, the Saudi official who has become one of boxing’s most influential power brokers.

The Mexican superstar is slated to challenge the unbeaten Christian Mbilli for the WBC super-middleweight title in Riyadh on 31 October, three weeks after Saturday’s missile strike on the Saudi capital’s main international airport killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 300.

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© Photograph: Chris Unger/TKO Worldwide LLC/Zuffa LLC

© Photograph: Chris Unger/TKO Worldwide LLC/Zuffa LLC

© Photograph: Chris Unger/TKO Worldwide LLC/Zuffa LLC

Riyadh airport hit again after deadly Houthi missile attack, Saudi authorities say

11 October 2026 at 18:28

Unidentified projectile strikes King Khalid airport, killing one and injuring 11, as escalating attacks threaten to draw more countries into Yemen conflict

A projectile hit a passenger terminal at the airport in Riyadh on Sunday, the day after a deadly missile attack on the facility carried out by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebel group killed 13 people.

An unidentified projectile hit terminal 4 at King Khalid international airport, starting a fire, killing one person and injuring 11, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities. Air defences also intercepted a cruise missile in the vicinity of the airport. It was the latest of several attacks on the airport in the past week.

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© Photograph: Social Media/Reuters

© Photograph: Social Media/Reuters

© Photograph: Social Media/Reuters

The Guardian view on the US, Russia and the international criminal court: Trump’s assault on the rule of law intensifies | Editorial

11 October 2026 at 12:25

A fuel deal with Vladimir Putin, and sanctions against the legal institution, ram home the president’s belief that might is right

On Friday, Donald Trump drove home his belief that might is right and the rule of law is an obstacle rather than an essential foundation stone of international order. First came the escalated assault on the international criminal court (ICC), sanctioning the body itself. Then he announced a deal with Russia to buy diesel.

The US has long chafed at the notion of being bound by the rule of law that it espoused publicly. That hypocrisy now appears as a lesser vice. The president has declared that “my own morality” is all that constrains him. His brazen flouting of the law, embrace of dictators and rhetorical attacks all undermine global standards.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

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© Photograph: Daryna Naumova/EPA

© Photograph: Daryna Naumova/EPA

© Photograph: Daryna Naumova/EPA

Middle East crisis live: Riyadh airport reportedly hit again, day after deadly attack that killed 12

11 October 2026 at 11:38

A Saudi-led coalition spokesperson said that a projectile hit a passenger terminal building, causing a fire

Some more Gulf reaction to Houthi’s deadly airport attack and continued threats to target Saudi airspace.

In a significant message, the United Arab Emirates has issued a statement in solidarity with Saudi Arabia – expressing support for “all measures aimed at safeguarding the kingdom’s security and stability”.

The UAE message is improtant given the major rupture in relations this year between the two oil-rich kingdoms, first sparked by lingering divisions in Yemen, and made worse by the Iran War and arguments over oil prices which led to the UAE quitting OPEC (currently led by the Saudis) after six decades of membership.

Saturday’s incident comes amid an escalation of missile strikes by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis ⁠on the kingdom. The airport has already been attacked twice this ​week, leaving four people dead and ‌others wounded, and ‌badly damaging an aircraft.

The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers after a truce in their long-running war with Yemen’s Riyadh-backed government unravelled in July.

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© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

Twelve killed and hundreds injured in Houthi attack at Riyadh airport

Donald Trump evaluating whether US should join Saudi strikes against the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels

Yemen’s Houthis have launched a missile attack on Riyadh’s international airport in Saudi Arabia, killing at least 12 people and leaving hundreds wounded, the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority has said.

Operations at King Khalid international airport in Riyadh were suspended as ambulances rushed to the airport. More than 300 people were reported injured in the deadliest attack in any Gulf Arab country since the start of the Iran war.

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© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

Flydubai co-pilot planned suicide attack on Israeli airport, UAE prosecutors say

Hammam al-Hammami is believed to have been targeting the passenger terminal at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv

The co-pilot who tried to seize control of a passenger jet flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv last week was planning to launch a suicide attack targeting the passenger terminal at Israel’s international airport, prosecutors in the United Arab Emirates said on Friday.

Hammam al-Hammami attacked the plane’s Indian pilot with an emergency axe, but failed to prevent his badly injured colleague from opening the cockpit’s security door to allow passengers to overpower his assailant.

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© Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters

© Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters

© Photograph: Ammar Awad/Reuters

Three Saudis killed in Riyadh airport attack claimed by Houthis

9 October 2026 at 05:47

Attack is deadliest in kingdom since it launched major military offensive with allies against Houthis in Yemen

Three Saudi citizens have been killed and several other people were wounded in attacks targeting Riyadh ⁠airport for which Yemen’s Houthis claimed responsibility, Saudi officials have said.

The attack late on Thursday was the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and allied forces in neighbouring Yemen launched a major military offensive last weekend against the Iran-backed Houthis.

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© Photograph: Social Media/Reuters

© Photograph: Social Media/Reuters

© Photograph: Social Media/Reuters

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