Saudi Arabia’s national airline says one of its pilots was among three people killed in a Houthi missile strike on an international airport on Riyadh.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and a parked Saudia Airlines plane, saying it involved at least one ballistic missile.
Saudia said Captain Hamoud Ali al-Kalthami was killed in the attack alongside two other Saudi nationals. It makes it the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia since the country launched a new offensive against the Houthis last weekend.
Air India and Lufthansa suspended flights to the Saudi capital, while updated UK Foreign Office advice warns against all but essential travel to Riyadh province.
According to aviation analytics company Cirium, almost half of departures from the Riyadh airport had been cancelled by 1500 GMT yesterday, with 31 more cancellations expected for Friday in all Saudi airports.
Earlier, Donald Trump said the US will not attack Iran for almost a month and claimed “productive” discussions were taking place over ending the conflict
UK warns against non-essential travel to parts of Saudi Arabia amid Houthi attacks
The UK has expanded its travel warning for Saudi Arabia amid renewed Houthi attacks, advising against all but essential travel to several areas of the kingdom.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) updated its guidance on 8 October. “FCDO advises against all but essential travel to Aseer province, Riyadh province, Najran province, Jizan province and Taif city and Taif International Airport,” it said in an update on its website.
It continues to advise against all travel within 10km of the Saudi-Yemen border.
The advisory follows a resurgence in attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement, which claimed to have struck Riyadh airport on Thursday and damaged an aircraft.
The US embassy in Saudi Arabia has also urged American citizens in the country to remain vigilant amid the recent attacks.
IRGC official says ‘non-compliant vessels in Hormuz are punished every night’
Iran’s IRGC is carrying out nightly operations against vessels it considers to be violating its rules in the Strait of Hormuz, Ali Mohammadi, the force’s political deputy, told the Fars news agency.
Mohammadi claimed that Iranian forces had maintained “complete and absolute” surveillance of the Strait since the first day of the war and would continue offensive and defensive operations.
He dismissed estimates by Donald Trump and media outlets that three million to eight million barrels of oil were passing through the waterway as “incorrect” and “media speculation” intended to lower prices and influence markets.
He said the IRGC Navy could impose its will “at any point” on vessels it considered to be in violation, accusing the US of creating insecurity in the Gulf and the wider region.
Saudia airline captain among three dead in Houthi strike on Riyadh airport
Three Saudi citizens were killed, including a captain with the national airline, and several other people “of different nationalities” were wounded during strikes targeting Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and a Saudia Airlines aircraft, the kingdom's civil aviation authority said.
It marked the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia since it and allied forces in neighbouring Yemen launched a major military offensive last weekend against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Thursday's first attack targeted airport facilities, while the second struck the aircraft, the statement said. It did not identify those responsible, though the Houthis claimed to have targeted the airport with a ballistic missile.
Among the dead was Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami, the Saudia Group said in a statement. A separate Saudia Group statement said one of its aircraft was damaged while it was on the ground and with no passengers on board.
“It is with profound sadness that Saudia announces the passing of Captain Hamoud Ali al-Kalthami, who lost his life on Thursday, October 8, 2026, in the incident at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh,” the airline said.
The airport in the Saudi capital has come under multiple attacks in recent days, with a Sudanese national killed there earlier this week.
US military planes worth up to $3.3 billion now lost or damaged in Iran war, Congress report says
The US military has seen 81 fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft worth as much as $3.3bn damaged or destroyed in President Donald Trump’s war with Iran so far, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
Trump launched his Operation Epic Fury airstrikes against Tehran, in partnership with Israel, on 28 February, since when it has seen airplanes, helicopters and drones hit in retaliatory strikes.
The total cited includes a costly F-35A fighter jet and a four-engine E-3 Sentry among the casualties, while MQ-9 Reaper drones, used for surveillance and search-and-rescue operations, account for more than half of the losses.
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OpenAI says Iran-linked network used ‘fake journalist’ personas to place US-Iran war articles
OpenAI says it disrupted an Iran-linked influence operation that used seven fake journalist identities to place nearly 100 articles about the US-Iran war in around a dozen online publications.
The network – which Open AI dubbed “Bogus Bylines” – used ChatGPT to write and refine articles, pitches and social media comments aimed at portraying the US as the aggressor and Iran as a victim.
The accounts originated in Iran and used VPNs to obscure their location, Al Jazeera reported.
Putin says Russia is ready to help end Iran war
Russian president Vladimir Putin told Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday that Moscow was ready to help end the war in Iran, Reuters reported.
Speaking during talks in Turkmenistan, Putin said Iran was making “real efforts” to end the conflict, which he said had begun through no fault of Tehran.
“You know our position. On our part, we are ready to do everything we can to help you resolve this situation,” Putin said, according to the Interfax news agency.
“We know that Iran is making real efforts to end the conflict, which broke out through no fault of its own, no fault of Iran,” Putin added.
The meeting came as diplomatic efforts between Iran and the US continued. Donald Trump said on Thursday that “productive discussions” with Iran were still underway.
US aircraft carrier returns home after 322-day deployment
The USS Abraham Lincoln returned to its home port in San Diego, California after a 322-day deployment, including a record 265 consecutive days at sea.
The aircraft carrier supported the US-Israel war on Iran, which began in February.
Crew members were greeted by family and friends, with some describing relief at finally returning home.
“It feels amazing,” 20-year-old Abel Ramirez told Associated Press, adding that his parents had driven from Texas to meet him.“There was a certain point when I never thought I would come off.”
On Thursday, the Pew Research Center released a poll that revealed that 65 per cent of Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of the war, compared with 33 per cent who approved.
‘Massive explosions’ reported in southern Strait of Hormuz
Iranian media reported “massive explosions” in the southern Strait of Hormuz.
Fars news agency, citing unnamed military sources, said tankers using “unauthorised” routes may have hit sea mines.
Houthis claim attack on Riyadh airport
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed they struck Riyadh airport with a ballistic missile on Thursday, damaging a parked Saudi Airlines plane that caught fire.
Air India and Lufthansa suspended flights to the Saudi capital.
Saudi Arabia has not commented on the latest claim, but said three people were killed in strikes on Riyadh and Abha airports earlier this week.
The Houthis say they are targeting Saudi Arabia because it supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government in the civil war.
They have also threatened to strike Saudi energy facilities.
USS Abraham Lincoln docks in San Diego after 10-month deployment in support of Iran war
The USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that had been deployed for a record 265 days at sea and supported US operations in Iran, has docked in San Diego, California.
The carrier drew national attention following reports of stress among the crew and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages. Pentagon officials downplayed those reports.
