Arya News - Operations at King Khalid International airport suspended as authorities say victims include four Saudis and eight foreigners.
Saudi Arabia has said at least 12 people were killed, and more than 300 were wounded in an attack by Yemen’s Houthis on the King Khalid International airport near its capital, Riyadh.
The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said the attack on Saturday killed at least four Saudi citizens and two Bangladeshis.
The dead also included one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.
At the latest count, at least 309 people were wounded, it said.
GACA added that some of the wounded were in critical condition and that all were receiving medical care in hospital.
The attack – which also caused property damage – marked the third assault by the Houthis on the international airport this week. Houthi attacks on King Khalid airport on Thursday killed at least three Saudi citizens, including a pilot, according to GACA.
Operations at the airport were temporarily suspended, with GACA saying officials were assessing the damage.
‘Decisive’ response
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen called the attack a “full-fledged war crime”. Spokesperson Major-General Turki al-Malki said the coalition would “respond decisively to this terrorist attack in accordance with the Customary International Humanitarian Law”.
Al-Malki also confirmed a separate incident, saying in a post on X that “a projectile fell in the vicinity of King Fahd International Airport in Dammam”.
Al Jazeera’s Yousef Mawry, reporting from Sanaa, said the Houthis had signalled that King Khalid International and other airports in Saudi Arabia would be among their main targets.
The attacks come as fighting intensified in Yemen, with forces loyal to the country’s internationally recognised government fighting the Iran-backed Houthis for control of the country.
Saudi Arabia has waged an air campaign in support of the Yemeni government’s ground war and claimed hundreds of strikes on Houthi-held territory, including the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
The head of the Houthi media office said in a post on X after Saturday’s attack that the group had “shut down Riyadh international airport”.
The Houthis have said airliners should avoid Saudi airspace, declaring it a zone of military operations after the Yemeni government launched an offensive against the group on Monday.
It said any aircraft operating there – except over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina – is a target.
‘Direct threat’ to regional security
Qatar condemned the attack , saying in a statement that Doha considered it “a direct threat to the security of the region”. Egypt, Jordan and Oman also expressed sympathy and solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
US President Donald Trump described the attack as “terrible” and said he was evaluating whether the US should join the war against the Houthis.
Separately, foreign embassies in Riyadh, including those of the US, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada, issued advisories on social media to their citizens in Saudi Arabia.
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.
The UK and Irish embassies advised their nationals about “a serious incident” at the airport. Canada’s embassy advised citizens in Riyadh to avoid all travel to the airport, noting “ongoing military activity”.
Nawaf Obaid, a senior research fellow at King’s College London, said the Houthi strike on a civilian target in Saudi Arabia was an anticipated response.
“It’s a matter of expectation, considering what the Houthis are experiencing through the Saudi air strikes over the last 10 days, two weeks. It was expected that this is – in a way – the only way to retaliate,” he told Al Jazeera.
He condemned the attack on a “clearly civilian target”, saying the initial assessment appears to be that the Houthis used a ballistic missile in the attack. “That just gives you the nature of who and what Saudi Arabia and its allies are dealing with today,” he added.
Saturday’s attack came after the Houthis claimed to have launched a ballistic missile towards the airport in Riyadh on Thursday, saying it successfully hit its intended target, causing damage and disrupting air traffic.
Days earlier, Saudi Arabia said Houthi attacks on Abha and King Khalid airports had killed three civilians and injured 36 others.