Fire breaks out at Riyadh airport after "unknown projectile” struck terminal: Saudi-led coalition
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The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s government said Sunday that an “unknown projectile” struck Terminal 4 at King Khalid International Airport, causing a fire that authorities are handling on site.
In statements posted on X, coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki reported the assault on the terminal and noted that a fire resulted from the attack, adding that authorities are responding at the location.
التحالف : اعتداء بمقذوف مجهول على صالة المسافرين رقم 4 بمطار الملك خالد الدولي.
— المتحدث الرسمي باسم قوات التحالف (@CJFCSpox) October 11, 2026
He added that air defences also "intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile" in the vicinity of the airport.
The announcement follows a missile strike on the same airport on Saturday that killed 12 people and injured 309 others, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation.
The dead included four Saudi citizens along with nationals from Bangladesh, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan.
Some of the wounded remain in critical condition.
The coalition has attributed the attacks to Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, describing them as a war crime targeting civilian infrastructure.
Airport operations were suspended after the Saturday strike, leading to widespread flight cancellations.
The incident is the deadliest attack inside Saudi Arabia in more than a decade and forms part of a recent surge in strikes on the facility.
