At least 12 people, including an American citizen, have been killed and 309 injured in a strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi officials said.
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said those killed included four Saudi citizens and two Bangladeshis, along with nationals from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Several of those injured were in a critical condition and were being treated at hospitals.
The airport, Saudi Arabia’s main international gateway, remained closed on Sunday after operations were suspended. Flights were diverted, while countries including Britain, the US, Germany, Australia and Canada advised their citizens to avoid the site.
A Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthi rebels in Yemen blamed the attack on the Iran-backed group. The Houthis had not claimed responsibility for Saturday’s strike, although they said they carried out earlier attacks on the airport during the week.
A missile hit a complex housing terminals three and four for domestic flights, according to a regional official who spoke anonymously. The attack was the deadliest in a Gulf Arab country since the start of the Iran war, the source material said.
The latest strike came amid a surge in attacks on Saudi airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure following the launch of a major Saudi-led offensive against the Houthis. The rebels had earlier accused Saudi Arabia of attacking Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital.
US President Donald Trump said he was considering whether America should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis. Asked about the possibility, he told reporters: “We may. We’re gonna look at it. We just found out about the recent attack [on the airport]. So we’ll make a decision — we move very quickly.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned what he called attacks by the “terrorist Houthis”, including the Riyadh strike, and said they had taken “numerous innocent lives, including an American citizen”. A State Department spokesperson said the administration was in close contact with its Saudi partners.
Hans Grundberg, the United Nations special envoy to Yemen, described the attack as a “dangerous escalation” and a “grave threat to regional security”.
Riyadh airport flights disrupted
At least 291 flights at the airport had been cancelled over the previous 24 hours, according to flight-tracking data. Several airlines, including Air India, FlyDubai, Lufthansa Group and Pakistan International Airlines, had already suspended flights to Riyadh and other Saudi airports for varying periods.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency warned of a greater risk to aviation infrastructure and said missile and drone attacks, together with interception efforts, increased the danger of civil aircraft being misidentified.
Two regional officials said Houthi attacks on the airport on Thursday damaged three planes. Saudi Arabia’s national carrier said one of its aircraft had been damaged on the ground, but that no passengers were aboard.
The attacks have unsettled the region and markets, although Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry continued promoting an international energy conference due to begin in Riyadh on Sunday.
