Three people have been killed and at least 36 others wounded in attacks on two Saudi Arabian airports, authorities said, as renewed fighting between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement and Saudi-backed government forces spills across the border.

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said two people were killed and 28 others injured in an attack on Abha International Airport, while another person was killed and eight others wounded in a separate attack at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

The attacks occurred on October 6 and 7, according to the aviation authority.

Foreign Nationals Among Those Killed

Two women, identified as Moroccan and Algerian nationals, were killed in the attack on Abha airport, which is located close to the Yemen border.

A Sudanese male resident was also killed in the attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

The Saudi civil aviation authority reported the casualties but did not identify those responsible for the attacks.

Houthis Claim Responsibility

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed that the group carried out attacks on both Saudi airports using ballistic missiles and drones.

Saree described the attacks as a response to what he called Saudi “aggression” against Yemen.

He claimed Saudi forces had carried out about 60 airstrikes and missile attacks against Houthi positions within a 24-hour period.

The Houthi spokesperson also claimed responsibility for an attack on Aden International Airport in Yemen on Wednesday.

Aden airport serves as a major international gateway for areas of Yemen controlled by forces opposed to the Houthis and has previously been targeted during periods of intensified fighting.

Saudi Coalition Vows Retaliation

The Saudi-led coalition later said the attacks on the kingdom’s airports “will not go unpunished.”

The coalition said it had launched strikes against more than 80 Houthi military sites in the Yemeni governorates of Saada, Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf and Ma’rib.

The Saudi-led coalition was formed in 2015 after several Arab countries joined Saudi Arabia in an effort to support Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthis.

Fighting Intensifies in Yemen

The latest escalation follows a renewed Houthi offensive in Yemen, where the group controls large parts of the northwest.

The Houthis have reportedly seized strategically important areas along the Red Sea coast, including the port of Mokha near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a major maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

Yemeni pro-government forces backed by Saudi Arabia have since said they secured the Bab al-Mandab Strait and declared an all-out campaign aimed at retaking territory held by the Houthis.

UN Raises Alarm Over Escalation

The United Nations has expressed concern over the worsening conflict and its humanitarian consequences.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned what he described as continued Houthi cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia and said he was deeply concerned about the sharp escalation in fighting.

Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed on both sides since the latest Houthi advance, while the United Nations said more than 200,000 people have been displaced by the renewed fighting.

The conflict has already produced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. A temporary ceasefire was brokered in 2022 after years of fighting and airstrikes that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths.

The latest attacks and military responses have raised fresh concerns about a wider escalation across Yemen and the surrounding region.