- Third Riyadh airport attack killed 12, injured 309.
- Operations suspended; flights diverted after deadly Houthi strike.
- US considers involvement as Saudi-Yemen conflict escalates.
- Attacks raise concerns for major Riyadh conferences.
At least 12 people were killed and 309 injured in the third attack on Riyadh’s international airport this week, Saudi authorities said on Saturday, as Iran-backed Houthis intensified their campaign against the kingdom. The latest strike was the deadliest in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade and occurred without any prior warning from the country’s threat alert system.
The Saudi civil aviation authority said the deceased included four Saudi nationals, two people from Bangladesh and one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt, Reuters reported.
Hospitals were overwhelmed with injured people arriving by ambulance and helicopter, according to people briefed on the matter. Some of the wounded were in critical condition.
The latest attack followed two strikes on King Khalid International Airport earlier this week that killed four people and severely damaged a Saudi commercial aircraft parked on the tarmac.
The attacks have raised concerns over vulnerabilities in Saudi Arabia’s defence capabilities as the kingdom continues its air campaign against the Houthis in support of a ground offensive by the Yemeni government against the Iran-backed group. A Saudi-led military coalition vowed to retaliate following Saturday’s deadly strike, the report stated.
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Riyadh Airport Operations Suspended, Flights Diverted
The Saudi civil aviation authority said all flights were diverted from Riyadh on Saturday, while operations at the airport serving a city of approximately eight million people were temporarily suspended, Reuters reported.
The head of the Houthi media office claimed in a post on X following the attack that the group had “shut down Riyadh international airport”.
The Houthis have also urged airliners to avoid Saudi airspace, declaring it a zone of military operations after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive against the group on Monday.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed that flights bound for Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled. At one point, only a helicopter was seen hovering over the airport.
According to the report, an eyewitness at the airport reported seeing an explosion, followed by multiple people lying injured on the ground inside the facility. More than a dozen ambulances were seen heading towards the airport.
An injured traveller told Reuters that they had seen something fly across the sky outside the airport before part of the ceiling near a departure gate collapsed.
The US embassy in Riyadh said it was “aware of attacks” and “strongly recommends all US citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas.”
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Trump Weighs US Involvement As Rubio Condemns Strikes
US President Donald Trump said Washington was considering whether to join Saudi Arabia’s strikes against the Houthis.
Asked by reporters outside the White House whether the US planned to participate in the military campaign, Trump said, “We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly,” he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attacks, saying they “demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life.”
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government have claimed to have carried out hundreds of strikes against targets in Houthi-controlled territory. The Houthis have alleged that these attacks killed civilians, including women and children, Reuters reported.
The latest attacks on Riyadh’s airport mark a further escalation in the conflict as Saudi Arabia supports the Yemeni government’s military campaign against the group.
Major Energy And Investment Conferences Scheduled In Riyadh
The airport attacks have also raised concerns ahead of major energy and investment conferences scheduled to take place in Riyadh.
Houthi strikes on Thursday and earlier in the week had already prompted several airlines to suspend or cancel services to the Saudi capital.
Organisers of the conferences had said before Saturday’s attack that the events would proceed as planned. Despite the latest strike and the temporary suspension of airport operations, the conferences were still scheduled to go ahead, according to the organisers.
