Iranian-backed Houthis killed one American and at least 11 others in a missile strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport Saturday, as President Trump said the U.S. may help Saudi Arabia respond.
The Daily Caller reported that Iranian-backed Houthi rebels launched missiles at the airport on Saturday, October 10, 2026, producing two explosions that struck two passenger terminals.
Saudi officials closed the airport after the attack. The General Authority of Civil Aviation temporarily suspended operations.
The Wall Street Journal reported at least 12 people killed, including one American, and more than 300 wounded. The American’s identity was not released.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation posted confirmation of the attack on X the same day.
The agency stated:
"An attack targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, and operations are temporarily suspended. #GACA"
In a longer statement, GACA said the airport “was targeted by an attack, amid continued attacks targeting civil aviation facilities in the Kingdom. The attack resulted in a number of injuries, which are currently being assessed.”
GACA’s public language focused on injuries under assessment. It did not detail fatalities in the quoted statements. The Journal’s higher casualty figures, including the American death, stand as the fuller accounting reported so far.
The Saturday strike was not isolated. The airport came under attack at least two other times in the prior week.
A Thursday attack destroyed a passenger jet and killed three people. The pattern left a major international hub repeatedly exposed to missile fire from Iranian-backed forces.
King Khalid International Airport serves Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Two passenger terminals took direct hits Saturday. Flights stopped. Travelers and workers faced the immediate cost of the assault.
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters Saturday at the White House after learning of the attack. He left the door open to American assistance for a Saudi military response.
Trump said:
"We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly."
The comments came the same day as the Riyadh strike. No final decision was announced in the remarks.
The Houthis operate with Iranian backing. The Saturday missiles fit a broader campaign against civil aviation sites inside the Kingdom, as GACA itself noted.
Earlier this year, the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28 after talks over the Islamic regime’s nuclear weapons program broke down. In June 2025, a strike hit multiple Iranian nuclear sites. Trump and administration officials said the program was “obliterated.”
A New York Times report from April 7 described skepticism inside the administration, including from Vice President JD Vance, before Trump authorized the wider campaign following a February White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Those earlier steps targeted the regime that arms and backs the Houthis.
Saturday’s toll at a civilian airport shows the same network still reaching soft targets. One American is dead. More than 300 people were wounded. A major Saudi airport sat closed while officials counted the damage.
Iran’s proxies keep firing at airports and airliners. Americans and our partners pay the price until the sponsors face real consequences.
