Smoke and flames rise from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack. (Reuters pic)RIYADH: Saudi Arabia said on Friday that three people were killed including a pilot were killed in attacks on Riyadh's international airport, after Yemen's Houthis claimed a series of attacks targeting the facility.

The conflict between the Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed government has widened, with the Iran-backed fighters staging repeated attacks on Saudi targets since they began a lightning offensive just across the border.

While seizing large swathes of territory along the Red Sea coast in Yemen, the Houthis have also attacked Saudi transport hubs, oil facilities and other civilian targets in the world's largest crude exporter.