Photo Credit: Markus Mainka/Picture Alliance

At least 14 people have been killed and 311 injured in Houthi attacks on Saudi airports, escalating tensions amid the US-Iran war.

Saudi civil aviation authorities said a projectile struck Terminal 4 at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, killing one person and injuring 11. The attack followed Saturday’s missile strike, which killed 13 people and injured more than 300. Authorities also confirmed an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attacks and warned airlines and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace, threatening further strikes if Saudi military operations in Yemen continued.

Saudi Arabia extended Riyadh airport’s closure and moved schools online until Thursday, while the Saudi-led coalition vowed to respond.

The escalating conflict has raised concerns over shipping through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a strategic waterway handling about 10 per cent of global maritime goods.

Saudi Arabia has sought military assistance from France, Egypt, the UK and Pakistan as its interceptor missile stocks reportedly dwindle. Britain pledged defensive support, while Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey agreed to accelerate military deployments under their mutual defence pact.

The attacks have drawn international condemnation as fighting intensifies following a Houthi offensive to seize Yemen’s Red Sea coast, ending years of relative calm after a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022.