Indian killed in Riyadh airport attack on October 10; MEA condemns Houthi strikes

On October 10, Houthi rebels attacked King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The strike was the third on the airport within a week and became Saudi Arabia’s deadliest attack in more than a decade. It mattered because an international airport is civilian infrastructure, not a battlefield target.

Initial reports counted 12 deaths and 309 injuries. Later, India’s embassy said one of 11 injured Indian nationals had died, raising the reported death toll to 13. The victims included Saudi nationals and people from Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, the United States, and India.

India condemned the repeated attacks and called for an immediate end to strikes on civilians and civilian facilities. The embassy worked with Saudi authorities to check on injured Indians and provide assistance. The attacks exposed weaknesses in Saudi defences as the wider Yemen conflict intensified.

The Houthis are an armed group in Yemen that has fought the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia. The article describes them as Iran-backed rebels. Their conflict with Saudi Arabia grew after the Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and advanced against government forces supported by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia led a coalition into Yemen in 2015. Its stated aim was to force the Houthis out of Sanaa and support the Yemeni government’s ground war. The fighting continued because neither side achieved a decisive victory. The article describes the war as becoming a stalemate, while hundreds of thousands of Yemenis died from fighting and famine.

A 2022 ceasefire between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis later unravelled. This summer, the Houthis made a sudden advance and took Bab el-Mandeb from Saudi-backed government forces. That escalation helped produce renewed attacks, including strikes on Riyadh’s airport.

The latest reported toll from the Riyadh airport attack was 13 dead and 309 injured. Initial reports after the October 10 strike said 12 people had been killed. The death count rose after India’s embassy reported that one injured Indian national had died.

The embassy said 11 Indian nationals were among those injured. It also said it was contacting Saudi authorities to check their well-being. External affairs minister S. Jaishankar expressed grief and promised the embassy would provide all possible assistance to the bereaved family.

The dead came from several countries. Saudi authorities listed four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis, and one person each from Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, and the United States. India condemned the attack and wished the injured a speedy recovery as violence spread across the region.

Airports serve ordinary passengers, workers, airlines, and emergency systems. An attack can kill people who are not taking part in the fighting. It can also damage aircraft, terminals, runways, and other facilities that connect communities and support trade and travel.

The Riyadh attack showed these risks clearly. It killed 13 people and injured 309, while two earlier strikes on the same airport killed four people and caused extensive damage to a Saudi commercial plane. The airport was targeted three times in one week, making the danger continuous rather than isolated.

India’s external affairs ministry called repeated attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure completely unacceptable. It urged an immediate end to such strikes. Continued attacks can deepen regional instability, expose weaknesses in air defences, and increase risks for millions of residents and foreign workers.

India has a strong interest in Saudi Arabia’s security because more than four million Indians live there. The article describes this as one of the largest concentrations of the Indian diaspora in West Asia. Violence in Saudi Arabia can therefore directly threaten Indian citizens, workers, families, and businesses.

The airport attack made that concern immediate. Eleven Indian nationals were injured, and the Indian embassy reported that one later died. External affairs minister S. Jaishankar offered condolences and said the embassy would extend all possible assistance. Embassy officials also contacted Saudi authorities about the injured Indians’ well-being.

India therefore combined humanitarian concern with a diplomatic response. It condemned the repeated attacks, expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty, and urged an immediate end to attacks on civilians. The regional conflict also matters because nearly 20 Indians had already died in the wider West Asia conflict since February.

Saudi Arabia became directly involved in Yemen’s war in 2015. It led a coalition whose aim was to force the Houthis out of Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. Saudi Arabia also supported the Yemeni government’s ground war against the group. This turned a domestic power struggle into a wider regional conflict.

The war lasted because the Saudi-backed forces and the Houthis failed to secure a decisive victory. The article calls the conflict a stalemate and says hundreds of thousands of Yemenis were killed by fighting and famine. A 2022 ceasefire between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis eventually unravelled, removing a fragile barrier against renewed escalation.

The conflict then intensified after a sudden Houthi advance captured Bab el-Mandeb from Saudi-backed government forces. Saudi Arabia continued an air campaign, while the Houthis expanded attacks beyond Yemen. The Riyadh airport strikes showed how the war’s consequences reached civilian sites and neighbouring countries.

A proxy war occurs when outside countries pursue their interests by supporting local groups in another country. They may provide weapons, money, training, intelligence, or political backing. This lets them compete indirectly while local fighters carry most of the combat and civilian cost.

The article presents Yemen in this way. Saudi Arabia led a coalition supporting the Yemeni government and its ground war against the Houthis. The Houthis are described as Iran-backed rebels. The result was a local conflict shaped by regional powers, with Saudi air operations and Houthi attacks reaching beyond Yemen.

Proxy wars can last because outside support helps local forces continue fighting even when neither side can win outright. Yemen became a stalemate, then a 2022 ceasefire collapsed. The later Houthi advance and airport attacks showed how indirect rivalry can destabilize neighbouring countries and threaten civilian infrastructure.