At least 12 people were killed and more than 300 wounded in an attack on Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday, the deadliest assault in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. The strike came as the Houthis escalate a campaign they launched earlier this summer. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Saudi civil aviation authority said the dead included four Saudis, two people from Bangladesh, and one person each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. At the latest count, officials said 309 people were wounded. The attack was the third on the airport this week.
Casualties and hospitals overwhelmed after airport strike
Hospitals were flooded with the wounded, who were brought in by ambulance and helicopter. Some were in critical condition, according to reports from the scene. The attack occurred without warning, leaving travellers and staff little time to react.
The two earlier attacks on King Khalid International Airport this week killed four people and caused heavy damage to a Saudi commercial plane parked on the tarmac. Together, the strikes have exposed weaknesses in Saudi defence capabilities, analysts and officials have suggested.
Yemen war ceasefire collapse fuels Houthi escalation
Saudi Arabia entered the Yemen war in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition, seeking to force the Houthis out of the capital, Sanaa. The conflict became a bloody stalemate, with hundreds of thousands of Yemenis killed by fighting and famine. A 2022 ceasefire between the Saudis and the Houthis unravelled this summer.
A sudden Houthi advance then took the Red Sea chokepoint of Bab el-Mandeb from Saudi-backed government forces. The Yemeni government began an offensive this week to retake the territory, but it has made only slow gains. Meanwhile, the Houthis have placed Taiz, the country’s third-largest city, under siege.
Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government have claimed hundreds of strikes on targets in Houthi-held territory. The Houthis have said these strikes killed civilians, including women and children. The claims could not be independently verified.
Trump weighs US role as Rubio and Guterres condemn attack
President Donald Trump said Washington was considering joining Saudi strikes on the Houthis. The conflict is a spillover from the war on Iran, which the United States and Israel launched in February. Asked whether the US planned to take part, Trump told reporters: “We may. We’re going to look at it.” He added that the administration had only just learned of the latest attack and would “make a decision” quickly.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the attacks on the airport, saying they “demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned Saturday’s strike. He said attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international law and must cease immediately. The Saudi-led military coalition has vowed to respond.
Airport shut, flights diverted and airspace warnings issued
On Saturday, all flights were diverted from Riyadh, and operations at the airport, which serves a city of 8 million people, were suspended, the Saudi civil aviation authority said. The head of the Houthi media office posted on X that the group had “shut down Riyadh international airport.”
The Houthis have warned international airlines against flying through Saudi airspace, saying it has become a theatre of their military operations. The only exception they named was airspace over the holy cities of Makkah and Madina. Earlier Houthi attacks had already prompted several carriers to suspend or cancel services to the Saudi capital.
An eyewitness at the airport said they saw an explosion, followed by several people lying injured on the ground inside. More than a dozen ambulances were seen rushing towards the facility. An injured traveller said they saw 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 “strongly recommends all US citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas.”
The attack comes shortly before Riyadh is due to host major energy and investment conferences. Organisers said before Saturday’s strikes that the events would go ahead as planned.
