ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority announced Friday that three Saudi citizens were killed and several more wounded in strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport the day prior, coming as Yemen's Houthis continue missile and drone strikes deep inside Saudi territory.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement that two separate attacks took place, one that targeted the airport's facilities and another that struck a commercial plane belonging to the national flag carrier, Saudia.

In addition to the three nationals killed, the authority noted that there were "injuries to a number of Saudi citizens and residents of various nationalities, ranging from minor to critical."

"All injured individuals were transported immediately to hospital for appropriate medical care. The attacks also caused some property damage."

One of the fatalities was identified by Saudia as Captain Hamoud Ali Al-Kalthami, a pilot in the aircraft that was struck, with the airline offering condolences to his family.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree on Thursday noted that the strikes were carried out using ballistic missiles and "were precise and direct," resulting in "the disruption of air traffic."

The long-range Houthi strikes come amid a counter-offensive launched by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, seeking to dislodge the rebels from the coastline along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, from where they have sought to impose a maritime blockade on Saudi maritime traffic through the Red Sea.

Despite Yemeni government claims that they have displaced the Houthis from the city of Mokha, the Iran-backed rebels have insisted that they are holding onto the territory they have seized.

The conflict between Riyadh and the Houthis had lain largely dormant since a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022. However, the latter group blamed Saudi Arabia for an airstrike on Sanaa International Airport in July, setting in motion a chain of events that culminated in a large-scale Houthi offensive that expanded their effective control over war-wracked Yemen.

In response to the conflict's escalation, Saudi Arabia activated the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement it signed earlier this year with Turkey and Pakistan, though Ankara has ruled out any participation in offensive operations in Yemen, limiting their troop deployments to defensive operations in Saudi Arabia itself, and Islamabad has vehemently denied reports that its aircraft are conducting airstrikes on Houthi positions.