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Saudi investigation: Why did the defense system fail to intercept the Houthi armed group's deadly attack on Riyadh airport?

Saudi investigation: Why did the defense system fail to intercept the Houthi armed group's deadly attack on Riyadh airport?

C2🇹🇼 中文 → 🇺🇸 English

October 12th, 2026

Saudi investigation: Why did the defense system fail to intercept the Houthi armed group's deadly attack on Riyadh airport?

C2
Please note: This article has been simplified for language learning purposes. Some context and nuance from the original text may have been modified or removed.

🇺🇸 English

Two regional officials disclosed on Monday that Saudi Arabian authorities have launched an investigation into why the kingdom's air defense system failed to intercept a barrage of missiles and drones launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, including an assault targeting Riyadh's airport that resulted in at least 13 fatalities and over 300 injuries.

兩名區域官員於週一透露,沙烏地阿拉伯當局已就該國防空系統何以未能攔截伊朗所支持之胡塞叛軍所發射之一連串飛彈與無人機一事展開調查,其中包括針對利雅德機場之襲擊,該起攻擊造成至少13人喪生、逾300人受傷。

The two officials requested anonymity, as they were not authorised to comment publicly.

這兩名官員因未獲授權公開置評而要求匿名。

According to their account, preliminary investigations indicate that the Yemeni Houthi militants initially deployed a number of drones to clear a path for a mixed offensive comprising cruise and ballistic missiles, in order to carry out the strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport.

據其所述,初步調查顯示,葉門胡塞武裝率先出動多架無人機,為巡弋飛彈與彈道飛彈構成的混合攻勢開闢路徑,以遂行對利雅德哈立德國王國際機場之打擊。

The ballistic missiles and advanced systems equipped with warheads in the Houthis' possession—whose warheads are capable of altering course mid-flight—pose a formidable challenge to the Patriot interception systems and other defensive architectures deployed by Saudi Arabia.

胡塞武裝所掌握的彈道飛彈及配備彈頭之先進系統,其彈頭具備飛行途中變向之能力,致使沙烏地所部署之愛國者攔截系統暨其他防禦體系面臨嚴峻挑戰。

One of the officials noted that this investigation is also intended to clarify why the air-defence system failed to issue an early warning of the attack; in that attack, the missiles and drones launched by the Houthis travelled over 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) before reaching Riyadh.

其中一名官員指出,此番調查亦旨在釐清防空系統何以未能及早對該次襲擊發出預警;在該次襲擊中,胡塞武裝所發射之飛彈與無人機飛越逾1,000公里(620英里)方抵達利雅德。

This incident forms part of a series of attacks that Houthi forces have launched against Saudi airports since last week, and it not only lays bare the fragility of Saudi Arabia's defensive apparatus but also signals that a steadily widening Middle Eastern conflict has reached a perilous turning point.

這起事件隸屬於自上週以降胡塞武裝針對沙烏地機場發動的一系列襲擊,不僅昭示了沙烏地阿拉伯防禦體系之脆弱,更標誌著一場持續蔓延的中東衝突已然瀕臨危險的轉捩點。

That conflict had its origins more than seven months ago, when the United States and Israel went to war with Iran.

該衝突濫觴於七個多月前美國與以色列對伊朗開戰之際。

The Saudi-led coalition likewise stated that it had twice intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels toward Riyadh on Monday.

沙烏地阿拉伯領導的聯軍亦表示,其已兩度攔截並摧毀葉門胡塞叛軍於週一朝向利雅德發射之彈道飛彈。

After nightfall on Monday, at least three explosions could be heard in the city.

週一入夜後,該市至少可聞三起爆炸聲響。

At the time of the incident, no party had immediately come forward to claim responsibility.

事發當下,尚無任何一方旋即出面宣稱犯案。

Civil defence officials subsequently stated that the danger had passed.

民防官員其後表示,危險業已解除。

Earlier on Monday, Saudi state media disclosed that its military was mounting a response to a fresh wave of attacks involving drones and cruise missiles, though it did not elaborate further on the specifics.

週一稍早,沙烏地官方媒體披露,其軍隊正就一起涉及無人機與巡弋飛彈的新一輪攻擊展開回應,惟未進一步詳述箇中細節。

"The events that have unfolded over recent weeks are of an exceedingly grave nature," Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's energy minister, stated on Monday at the World Petroleum Energy Congress convened in Riyadh.

「近數週以來所發生的事件,其性質至為嚴峻,」沙烏地能源部長阿卜杜勒阿齊茲· bin·薩勒曼親王週一於利雅德召開的世界石油能源大會上表示。

"For this reason, our response must likewise be of an equally serious character."

「職是之故,我方之回應亦須具備同等之嚴肅性。」

The Center for International Communication, a Saudi government body that oversees foreign media, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the investigation into the defense failure.

沙烏地政府轄下、負責監督外國媒體之國際交流中心,對於就防禦失敗調查置評之請求,未即時作出回應。

Saudi Arabia is eager for the United States to intervene more directly in its war against the Houthis.

沙烏地亟盼美國更為直接地介入其對胡塞武裝之戰事。

Although Washington has provided intelligence sharing, target identification, and planning for the Saudi-led offensive, it has never launched strikes against the Houthis.

華盛頓方面雖已為沙烏地所主導之攻勢提供情報分享、目標識別與規劃,卻始終未對胡塞武裝發動打擊。

American intervention may prompt the Houthis to seek to disrupt shipping off the coast of Yemen, in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea, thereby strangling the export of oil from the Persian Gulf.

美國的干預或將促使胡塞武裝力圖阻斷葉門外海、紅海南端曼德海峽之航運,從而箝制石油自波斯灣之輸出。

The flow of Middle Eastern oil has become all the more intricate owing to Iran's efforts to choke off the Strait of Hormuz; on the eve of war between the United States and Iran, roughly one-fifth of the world's oil was shipped through that strait.

中東石油之流通,已因伊朗力圖扼制荷莫茲海峽而益形錯綜;美伊開戰前夕,全球約五分之一之石油皆取道該海峽輸運。

The rebels seized a strategic stronghold along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait last month.

叛軍於上月奪取了曼德海峽沿岸之戰略要衝。

The Saudi-led coalition, which lends robust support to forces allied with Yemen's internationally recognised government, has repeatedly sought to retake the aforementioned lost territory.

沙烏地領導之聯軍,力挺與葉門國際公認政府結盟之部隊,迭次試圖收復上述失地。

In the wake of the deadly airport assault, President Trump told reporters on Saturday that he was weighing the possibility of launching a US military strike against the Houthis.

在致命機場襲擊事件後,川普總統於週六向記者表示,他正權衡對胡塞武裝發動美方軍事打擊的可能性。

Yet this conflict has arisen at a delicate juncture for Trump: with only weeks remaining until the US midterm elections, a contest that will determine whether his Republican Party can preserve its grip on Congress.

然而,此番衝突對川普而言,恰逢一個微妙的節骨眼:距美國期中選舉僅餘數週,而這場選舉將決定其共和黨能否維繫對國會的控制權。

Persistent inflation, compounded by oil prices driven ever higher by the protracted conflict with Iran, has already stirred widespread discontent among the American public toward that war.

持續的通膨,加之與伊朗綿延不絕的衝突所推升的油價,已然激起美國民眾對那場戰爭的普遍不滿。

Should the United States broaden its military involvement in the region, it would likely exacerbate voters' resentment still further.

美國若擴大其在該地區的軍事介入,恐將進一步加劇選民的怨懟。

The Houthi-controlled Yemeni Ministry of Health declared on Monday that airstrikes targeting a government building complex and a residential house in the northern province of Al-Jawf had resulted in nine fatalities, among them five children and one woman, with a further seven individuals wounded; this information was reported by the Houthi-controlled Saba news agency.

胡塞武裝掌控之葉門衛生部於週一宣稱,針對北部焦夫省一處政府建築群及一棟民宅所實施之空襲,已造成9人罹難,其中包括5名兒童與1名婦女,另有7人負傷;此消息係依據胡塞武裝掌控之薩巴通訊社所報導。

Houthi officials have likewise asserted that a fresh wave of Saudi strikes targeting Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, has left one person dead and twelve others wounded.

胡塞官員亦聲稱,沙烏地針對葉門首都沙那所發動之新一輪打擊,已致1人喪生、12人負傷。

Riyadh's airport remained closed on Monday, while workers in the capital's financial district were instructed to switch to working from home.

利雅德機場於週一仍舊維持關閉狀態,首都金融區之從業人員則奉令改採居家辦公。

Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia proceeded with the second day's agenda of the World Petroleum Energy Congress on Monday.

然而,沙烏地於週一仍舊持續推進世界石油能源大會第二日之議程。

Furthermore, on Monday an Emirati diplomat urged the launch of a "Joint Gulf Action," aimed at defending the Gulf states against incursions by Iran and its allied groups.

此外,一名阿聯外交官於週一敦促發起「聯合波斯灣行動」,旨在捍衛波斯灣諸國抵禦伊朗及其盟邦團體之侵襲。

Anwar Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the ruler of the United Arab Emirates, pointed out that Iran and its allies had misjudged the Arab Gulf states as the "weakest link" in America's war against Iran; throughout this conflict, Tehran and its allies have repeatedly attacked the Arab states on the opposite shore of the Gulf.

阿拉伯聯合大公國統治者之外交顧問安瓦爾·加爾加什指出,伊朗及其盟友誤判波斯灣阿拉伯國家為美國對伊朗戰爭中「最薄弱環節」;於此戰事中,德黑蘭及其盟友屢次進犯波斯灣對岸之阿拉伯國家。

"It has become abundantly clear that we are all targets, and that our security is inextricably intertwined," he wrote on social media.

「業已昭然若揭,我們悉數皆為標的,我們的安全休戚與共,」他於社群媒體上如是寫道。

On Monday, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs voiced its concern regarding the military conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi armed movement, and affirmed that Tehran stands ready to step in as a mediator to resolve the dispute.

伊朗外交部於週一就沙烏地與胡塞武裝之間的軍事衝突表達關切,並申明德黑蘭方面已作好介入調停、化解爭端的準備。

"We express our profound and grave concern over the evolving situation in the Arabian Peninsula," declared the spokesman, Ismail Baghaei, at the weekly press conference.

「吾等對阿拉伯半島局勢之演變深表嚴重關切,」發言人伊斯梅爾·巴蓋伊於週例記者會上申明。

"We have on several occasions declared our readiness to mediate in order to bring about talks between the two sides."

「吾等業已數度宣告,願居中斡旋,以促成雙方會談。」

Baghei disclosed that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud had spoken by telephone on Sunday to confer on the current situation, though he did not divulge any further particulars.

巴蓋伊透露,外交部長阿巴斯·阿拉格奇與沙烏地外交部長費薩爾· bin·法爾漢·阿勒沙特親王曾於週日互通電話,就當前局勢進行磋商,惟其並未進一步披露箇中細節。

On Monday, dozens of mourners attended the funeral of the Jordanian who lost his life in the missile strike at King Khalid International Airport.

數十名哀悼者於週一出席了那名在哈立德國王國際機場飛彈攻擊中罹難的約旦人之葬禮。

Mahmoud al-Barkawi, a thirty-three-year-old employee of a café in Riyadh and a father of two, was buried after the funeral procession set out from a mosque in Amman.

三十三歲的馬哈茂德·巴爾卡維,利雅德一家咖啡館的雇員,身為兩個孩子的父親,在葬禮隊伍自安曼一座清真寺啟程後,被安葬。

His father, Hassan Barqawi, candidly acknowledged that the entire family was mired in a situation of extreme hardship.

其父哈桑·巴爾卡維坦言,闔家上下正陷於舉步維艱之境。

"No one can truly fathom the anguish that this tragedy entails," he said.

「無人得以真正體會這場悲劇所承載的痛楚,」他說道。

The attack also left four Jordanian citizens wounded.

是次襲擊亦致使四名約旦公民負傷。

Yousef Issawi, the chief of the Jordanian Royal Hashemite Court, attended the funeral in person to convey condolences on behalf of the King and the Crown Prince.

約旦王室法院院長優素福·伊薩維親臨葬禮,代表國王與王儲致以哀悼之意。

October 12th, 2026

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