Houthi attacks hit Riyadh airport as Saudi air defences face pressure

Yemen’s Houthi armed group has launched repeated missile, cruise missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia since starting a new campaign in September.

Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has been targeted several times.

An attack on Saturday killed 12 people and wounded 309, the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.

The airport suspended operations and diverted flights, while the United States and United Kingdom issued travel warnings.

Saudi Arabia has advanced air defence systems and says it intercepted some projectiles, including two ballistic missiles aimed at the capital on Thursday, but the attack on the airport got through.

The Houthis use different types of weapons together, which can make them harder to intercept, and their missiles and drones have reached targets as far away as Israel.

The exact weapon used against the airport is not known, and Saudi forces have been striking Houthi positions in Yemen as the group advances against government forces backed by Riyadh.