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Indians in the Gulf: India condemns Houthi-claimed attack on Riyadh airport

By CAShorts DeskPublished Source: Ministry of External Affairs statement and Indian Embassy, Riyadh, via The Hindu, All India Radio News (newsonair.gov.in) and The Indian Express, 11 October 2026

Indians in the Gulf: India condemns Houthi-claimed attack on Riyadh airport
Illustration (AI-generated)

India's Ministry of External Affairs on 11 October 2026 condemned the repeated attacks on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport as "completely unacceptable". An Indian injured in the 10 October attack died, and the Indian Embassy said at least 10 more Indians were among about 300 injured. Saudi Arabia blamed Yemen's Houthis, who claimed the attack.

Syllabus: Prelims · Current Affairs & IR; Prelims · Geography; GS2 · Groupings & Agreements

Why it matters

For an Indian worker, pilgrim or traveller in Saudi Arabia, the war in Yemen has reached the capital's airport: one Indian is dead and at least ten were hurt in a strike on a civilian airport. Saudi Arabia has one of the largest Indian communities abroad and holds the holy cities Indian pilgrims visit, so every attack tests how fast Indian missions can trace the injured, arrange treatment and send bodies home. It also tests India's diplomacy. New Delhi must stand by Saudi Arabia, a strategic partner, and keep millions of Indians across the Gulf safe while an Iran-backed group strikes a Gulf capital.

Prelims pointers

  • Houthis: formally Ansar Allah, a Zaidi Shia movement from Saada in northern Yemen; seized Sanaa in 2014; backed by Iran.
  • Yemen: borders Saudi Arabia (north) and Oman (east); Red Sea to the west, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea to the south.
  • Bab-el-Mandeb: the strait between Yemen and Djibouti and Eritrea, joining the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
  • Saudi Arabia: coasts on the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf; Riyadh lies inland; land borders with Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, Oman and Yemen.
  • Strategic Partnership Council: India-Saudi Arabia mechanism set up under an agreement signed in Riyadh in October 2019.
  • Indian Community Welfare Fund (2009): run by the MEA through Indian missions; pays for boarding, emergency medical care, air passage home and transport of mortal remains in deserving cases.
  • Emigration Act, 1983: Emigration Check Required passport holders need emigration clearance from the Protector of Emigrants to work in notified countries, Saudi Arabia among them.
  • Gulf Cooperation Council (1981, secretariat in Riyadh): Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman; Yemen is not a member.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to Yemen, consider the following statements:

1. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the east.

2. The Bab-el-Mandeb strait off its south-western coast links the Red Sea with the Persian Gulf.

3. The Houthi movement, formally called Ansar Allah, arose in the north of the country.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 and 2 only
  2. (b) 2 and 3 only
  3. (c) 1 and 3 only
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

1 is correct: Yemen borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the east. 2 is incorrect: the Bab-el-Mandeb links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, not the Persian Gulf, which the Strait of Hormuz opens. 3 is correct: the Houthis, formally Ansar Allah, are a Zaidi Shia movement from Saada in northern Yemen.

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