OTTAWA Oct 10, 2026 – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Saturday condemned attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group on Saudi Arabia, calling a strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh “abhorrent” and without justification.
In a statement posted on X, Carney said there can be no justification for attacks on civilian infrastructure and that “no political or military objective can justify the deliberate targeting of innocent people.” He added that Canada condemns the acts “in the strongest possible terms” and extended condolences to the families of those killed while wishing a full recovery to the injured.
Saudi authorities reported that a late Saturday attack on the airport killed at least 12 people and injured 309, some critically. The dead included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis, and one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, and Egypt, according to the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation. Airport operations were temporarily suspended.
The incident was the latest in a series of strikes this month. Earlier attacks on Riyadh and other Saudi airports killed at least three people, including a Saudia airline pilot, and injured dozens more. Saudi-led coalition officials described the Saturday strike as a “war crime” and said it hit a passenger terminal, affecting civilians and staff. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the attacks and confirmed an American citizen was among the dead.
The strikes come amid heightened fighting in Yemen between Houthi forces, who control much of the country, and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. The Houthis have targeted Saudi airports and other sites in recent days as part of an escalation that began earlier in the summer. Saudi officials have vowed a response, while international condemnation has focused on the civilian toll and disruption to air travel.
Carney’s statement aligns with broader Western responses emphasizing the protection of civilian infrastructure amid the conflict.
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