Security footage shows deadly Houthi missile attack on Riyadh airport over weekend

Saudi government’s release of Saturday video marks exception to kingdom’s quiet-keeping approach to ongoing strikes; many of the passengers appear to be pilgrims heading to Mecca

Muslim pilgrims wrapped in white garments queued for a document check at Riyadh’s international airport when a powerful explosion brought chunks of the ceiling down on their heads, security footage released on Monday by Saudi authorities showed.

Smoke and debris cloud the images from Saturday’s missile attack by the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group in Yemen, leaving only a sudden fire visible, while some blurry figures appear too shocked to flee.

The strike, the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in a decade, killed at least 12 people and injured over 300.

Many of the passengers in the video released by Saudi authorities appeared to be pilgrims headed to Mecca on the Islamic Umrah pilgrimage, the high season of which is just beginning as the intense summer heat starts to ease in Saudi Arabia.

The official release of footage from the blast was a notable development after the government for weeks offered few public details on the extent of Houthi strikes on the kingdom.

Saudi authorities have warned of potential legal consequences against witnesses speaking out about strikes and have restricted media from accessing attack sites to independently report on them.

فيديو يوثق استعدادات معتمرين للصعود إلى طائراتهم قبل الاعتداء على مطار الرياض يوم أمس pic.twitter.com/VjASRlWLPb

— العربية عاجل (@AlArabiya_Brk) October 11, 2026

Pro-government news outlet the Saudi Gazette said the footage underscored “the danger posed to innocent travelers whose journeys are dedicated to worship,” adding that the attack “raises serious questions about the Houthis’ claims to religious legitimacy.”

The Houthi attacks over the weekend, including a second strike on Riyadh airport on Sunday and another strike on Dammam airport, marked a sharp escalation in the Yemen war, where Saudi Arabia backs the internationally recognized government.

The long-running conflict between the Iran-backed Houthis and Yemen’s internationally backed government has escalated since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, triggering an ongoing conflict that has spread across the region.

A Wall Street Journal report Monday, citing Saudi officials, said the kingdom is running low on interceptor missiles needed to fend off the ongoing strikes. Riyadh did not respond to the report.