Breaking: Several Explosions Heard Across Saudi Arabia's Capital, Riyadh

• Several explosions were heard across Riyadh on Thursday, October 8, as witnesses reported blasts during the ongoing Saudi-Houthi conflict
• Earlier drone attacks on two Saudi airports left three people dead and dozens wounded, with flight delays continuing into a second day
• Saudi Arabia accused the Houthis of targeting Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, claims the group flatly denied

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Multiple explosions rang out across Riyadh on the morning of Thursday, October 8, according to witnesses in the Saudi capital, as fighting between the kingdom and Yemen's Houthi fighters continued to intensify.

As reported by TRT World, diplomats in the city were told to remain in their embassies, and international schools were said to be taking precautionary measures.

Deaths reported at two Saudi airports

Houthi militants, the Iran-backed group formally known as Ansar Allah, have claimed responsibility for a string of recent attacks on Saudi airports and other critical infrastructure across the kingdom, The Times of Israel reported.

Saudi officials confirmed on Thursday, October 8, that earlier drone strikes on two airports had left three people dead. A Sudanese national was killed and eight others wounded in a strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. In a separate attack on Abha airport in the southwestern city of Abha, a Moroccan and an Algerian resident were killed and 28 others wounded. Flight disruptions caused by the strikes stretched into a second consecutive day.

Spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, Major General Turki al-Malki, said forces intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh and destroyed a launch platform in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, that had been used in attacks on the Saudi capital.

View a tweet concerning the situation in Riyadh below, courtesy of Turkish news website Gerçek Gündem:

Saudi Arabia has also accused the Houthis of directing strikes at Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest cities.

The Houthi group rejected the accusations as "fabrications and lies propagated by the criminal al-Saud regime." Any confirmed attack on either city would draw near-universal condemnation across the Muslim world.

Yemen conflict becomes region's most active front

The surge in Houthi attacks came as the Saudi-led coalition and Yemeni government forces pressed a major ground and air offensive to reclaim territory the group had seized along Yemen's western Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb strait about a month earlier. Coalition officials said on Monday, October 5, that forces had retaken several key positions around the strait, through which roughly 12% of global trade passes.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in an analysis:

"The Houthis believe that they can maximise Saudi economic costs and compel Saudi Arabia to surrender to Houthi demands by striking civilian infrastructure, such as oil facilities and airports."

Strikes on Saudi facilities also threaten shipping routes that serve as vital alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic has been reduced because of the broader Iran conflict.

The Yemen front has become the most active theatre in the wider regional war in recent weeks. According to United Nations (UN) data, more than 200,000 people have been displaced since the conflict escalated again in July.

Saudi vehemently deplores Houthi attacks

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Saudi Arabia accused Yemen's Houthi rebels of striking civilian and energy sites across four southern provinces, wounding at least 73 people.

The Saudi-led coalition called the attacks a 'dangerous escalation' and warned it would take all necessary operational measures in response.

The Houthis said their strikes were retaliation for more than 120 Saudi air raids on Yemen in the three days before the attack.