ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Sunday declared Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport a “military target” and warned against using the facility, as reports of further attacks on the Saudi capital continue.

In a post on X, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree warned “all international, regional, and local airlines—as well as staff and travelers—against using King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, as it is unsafe and serves as a military target for our forces.”

“The Saudi regime shall bear full responsibility for any operations at the airport,” he said, adding that the rebels will continue their operations against the facility and that it will “never be safe.”

Since early Sunday, spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen Turki al-Maliki reported at least three ballistic missiles and drones targeting the capital.

The strikes come as the airport was supposed to resume flights on Sunday, after it was closed for two weeks due to the Houthi attacks, with AFP news agency reporting that the Flightradar monitoring site showed a plane taking off early in the day.

The Houthis have launched repeated strikes against Riyadh airport since hostilities between the Iran-backed group and the Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemeni government resumed in June. 

Earlier in October, a Houthi strike on the airport killed 12 people and injured more than 300, prompting widespread condemnation and expressions of support for Saudi Arabia. It was the deadliest attack on the kingdom in years.

On Wednesday, the United States ordered “non-emergency” US embassy staff and their families to leave Saudi Arabia, with the State Department saying that Washington is taking all measures to protect its staff amid escalating Houthi attacks. 

In June, a two-year truce between Riyadh and the Houthis expired after the Iran-backed group blamed Saudi Arabia for an airstrike on Sanaa airport, setting in motion a chain of events that culminated in a large-scale Houthi offensive that expanded their effective control over war-torn Yemen. 

The Houthis are widely regarded as one of the most powerful actors within the Iran-backed regional axis of resistance. The group holds staunch anti-American and anti-Israeli sentiment, alongside its animosity toward Riyadh.