12 Killed and 309 Injured in Attack on Riyadh Airport
An attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and injured 309 others on Saturday, the deadliest strike in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade.
Deadly Attack Hits Riyadh Airport
The fatalities included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis, and one each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. [1] [2] Some of the injured were in critical condition and all were receiving medical care at several hospitals. [1] Hospitals were flooded with wounded brought by ambulance and helicopter. [1] Jordan's foreign ministry said two injured Jordanians were discharged from hospital while two others were still receiving treatment. [1] One eyewitness at the airport reported seeing an explosion and then multiple people lying injured on the ground inside. [1] More than a dozen ambulances were seen rushing towards the facility. [1] A video verified by Reuters showed ambulances at the airport. [1] An injured traveller told Reuters they saw something fly across the sky outside the airport before part of the ceiling near a departure gate collapsed. [1] Saturday's attack occurred without warning, with no alert issued by Saudi Arabia's threat warning system. [1] A regional official said a missile struck a complex housing terminals 3 and 4, which serve domestic flights. [4]
Airport Operations Suspended
All flights to Riyadh were diverted or cancelled and operations at the airport were temporarily suspended. [1] [2] Flight-tracking site flightradar24 showed all flights to Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled, with only a helicopter hovering over the airport at one point. [1] FlightAware recorded at least 291 cancellations at Riyadh airport over the preceding 24 hours. [4] An official aviation notice said the suspension would remain in place until midnight. [4] In an advisory issued earlier on Saturday, King Khalid airport urged passengers to contact their airlines directly and check their flight status before heading to the airport. [1] Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed Saudi citizens travelling to the kingdom to contact local embassies if their travel itineraries have been disrupted. [1] The US mission said it was aware of attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and strongly recommends all US citizens avoid the airport and surrounding areas. [1] The UK and Irish embassies advised their nationals about a serious incident at the airport. [1] Canada’s embassy advised citizens in Riyadh to avoid all travel to the airport. [1] Kuwait Airways said it was cancelling flights because the airport had closed due to a security situation. [1]
Third Strike in a Week
This was the third attack on the airport in a week, following two earlier strikes that killed four and damaged a commercial plane. [1] [3] The dead included four Saudis, two people from Bangladesh and one person each from the U.S., Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. [3] At the latest count, officials said 309 were wounded. [3] Houthi attacks on Thursday and earlier in the week had already prompted a number of carriers to suspend or cancel services to the Saudi capital. [1]
Houthi Campaign and Yemeni Fighting
The Iran-backed Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the latest attack but warned airlines to avoid Saudi airspace except over Mecca and Medina. [1] The group said it was ready for reciprocal measures with Saudi Arabia to keep airports, seaports and other facilities with humanitarian functions outside the escalating military confrontation. [2] The strike occurred amid escalated fighting in Yemen, with Saudi-backed government forces conducting over 1,900 operations against Houthi positions. [1] [2] Yemen's government forces said more than 1,150 Houthi fighters had been neutralized and over 180 military and logistical vehicles destroyed or damaged in over 1,900 strikes across multiple fronts in Yemen in the past 24 hours. [2] The coalition called the attack a war crime and said it will respond firmly to the attack on the airport. [1] Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported that Saudi Arabia launched a new wave of air and missile strikes across Houthi-held areas in Yemen, targeting Sanaa International Airport, areas near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait and several northern provinces. [2] Around Yemen's southwestern city of Taiz, Houthi advances have put increasing pressure on government forces defending the city. [2]
International Condemnations and Responses
The US, Qatar, Japan, Egypt and other nations condemned the attack, with President Trump stating the US may join Saudi strikes on the Houthis after speaking with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. [1] [4] United States President Donald Trump was asked by reporters outside the White House whether Washington planned to join the Saudi strikes on the Houthis. [1] Trump said the administration would assess the latest attack before making a decision and added that he planned to speak to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about it. [1] [4] US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States strongly condemns recent attacks on Saudi Arabia and that an American citizen was killed in the strikes. [1] Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it a direct threat to the security of the region. [1] Qatar’s former prime minister said the attack shows that it is more urgent than ever to stand with Saudi Arabia in a practical and decisive manner. [1] Japan’s embassy also strongly condemned Houthi attacks on airports and other Saudi civilian facilities. [1] Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its profound denunciation of these blatant attacks, their flagrant violation of international law, and the disregard for the safety of citizens that they entail. [1]
Background to the Conflict
Saudi Arabia entered the Yemen war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition to try to force the Houthis out of the Yemeni capital Sanaa. [1] The Houthis had stormed Sanaa the previous year, pushing out government forces. [1] The war was fought to a bloody stalemate, with hundreds of thousands of Yemenis killed by fighting and famine. [1] Saudi Arabia struck a 2022 deal with the Houthis, freezing the conflict. [1] That ceasefire unravelled over the summer, culminating in a lightning Houthi advance that took the Red Sea chokepoint of Bab el-Mandeb from Saudi-backed government forces. [1] The Saudi-backed Yemeni government began an offensive this week to try to retake that territory. [1] Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of the country's north. [2] A Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government. [2] The renewed fighting marked a major escalation after a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities. [2]
What to watch next: Organisers of major energy and investment conferences in Riyadh said they would go ahead as planned, while the Saudi-backed offensive in Yemen continues with air support and Houthi forces maintain pressure around Taiz and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
