Yemen’s Houthis say struck Riyadh airport, other Saudi sites

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

This photo shows a general view of fuel tanks at the fuel depot near King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. File. | Photo Credit: AFP

Iran-backed Houthis said on Monday (October 5, 2026) they had struck Riyadh’s international airport, an oil refinery and other sites in Saudi Arabia, as the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said they had destroyed Houthi targets on the Red Sea coast.

Pakistan and Turkiye have pledged to deploy troops to Saudi Arabia under a new mutual defence pact following weeks of Houthi attacks, as Riyadh and its Yemeni government allies began an ambitious push aimed at retaking all territory held by the group.

ALSO WATCH Saudi backed Yemeni forces expel Houthis from several areas around key strait

The fighting in Yemen has become the most active front in the West Asia war in recent weeks, displacing more than 1,84,000 people, the United Nations says, and deepening the conflict that has engulfed the wider region.

The Houthis previously controlled much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and the western city of Hodeida, but seized swathes of coastline last month along the Red Sea and key Bab al-Mandab Strait, in Yemen’s deadliest fighting in years.

The Houthis have also been attacking neighbouring Saudi Arabia since Yemen’s civil war flared back to life and have declared a maritime blockade on its ships.

The Yemeni military said it carried out more than 1,000 strikes and began an offensive against Sanaa, while the Saudi-led coalition supporting the internationally recognised government said 100 warplanes flew sorties at dawn.

Turki Al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said on X that its naval forces had hit “military targets” belonging to the Houthis in Hodeida on the Red Sea coast.

They “destroyed weapons depots, facilities storing booby-trapped boats and naval mines” and had “thwarted a planned attack” targeting waterways in the southern Red Sea, he said.

Later, the military said it had driven the Houthis from the area surrounding the Bab al-Mandeb Strait — a vital route for maritime traffic — including the port city of Mocha, Dhubab airport and Al-Omari military camp.

They also said they expelled the Houthis from several areas in Taiz in the southwest, where deadly fighting has surged in recent days.

Military sources stopped short of confirming an official announcement of Mocha’s recapture, saying that pro-government forces had cut off the only supply route to the port.