Three people have been killed and 36 others injured following separate attacks on two international airports in Saudi Arabia, according to the kingdom’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

The attacks targeted Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and King Khalid International Airport in the capital, Riyadh, on Wednesday, GACA said. The incidents also caused material damage at the two facilities.

At Abha airport, two people — a Moroccan woman and an Algerian woman — were killed, while 28 others were injured. At King Khalid International Airport, a Sudanese national was killed and eight other people were wounded.

Saudi authorities said those injured were taken to hospitals for medical treatment, while relevant agencies began assessing the damage and checking the safety of the airport facilities.

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement claimed responsibility for attacks on both airports. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had targeted King Khalid International Airport and Abha airport as part of its ongoing campaign against Saudi Arabia and its allies.

Saudi authorities have not publicly attributed the attacks in their initial civil aviation statement, but the Houthi claim comes amid a major escalation in fighting between the group and forces supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

Saudi Arabia has backed the Yemeni government in its conflict with the Houthis since 2015. The latest fighting has intensified around Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb area.

The renewed conflict has also affected civilian air travel. Reuters reported that Houthi forces separately targeted Aden International Airport in Yemen, forcing a flight from Cairo to divert to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s government said it had destroyed a missile-launch platform in Sanaa that it alleged was used in the attack targeting Riyadh.

The latest escalation follows a renewed Saudi-backed military push against Houthi forces, who have maintained control over significant parts of Yemen. The fighting has displaced more than 200,000 people, according to recent United Nations estimates reported by Reuters.

The situation on the ground remains fluid, with conflicting claims from the opposing sides about territorial gains and military operations. Several of those claims have not been independently verified.

The attacks on Saudi airports have nevertheless highlighted the growing regional consequences of the renewed Yemen conflict, raising concerns over civilian safety, air travel and the stability of important transport and trade routes in the region.

Reporting by TalkNaijaMedia