A projectile targeted Riyadh’s international airport on Sunday and caused a fire, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said. The incident came hours after the Iran-backed Houthis urged airlines and travellers to keep away from Saudi airports.
The coalition also said Saudi air defences had intercepted a cruise missile near King Khalid International Airport and that the Sunday projectile was aimed at Terminal 4. It gave no further details, and the facility is still shut following the previous day’s assault.
Saturday strike killed 12 and wounded hundreds
On Saturday, an attack on the same airport killed 12 people and wounded more than 300 others. The kingdom has not seen a deadlier strike of this kind in more than a decade, according to the report.
Saudi authorities said the dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and nationals of the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. Saturday’s assault was the third on the airport within a single week.
Four people died in the two earlier attacks, and one of them caused heavy damage to a Saudi commercial aircraft parked on the tarmac.
Houthi warnings amid growing Saudi military role in Yemen
In a statement posted on X, the Houthis renewed their warning to airlines, aviation experts, workers and travellers. They said Saudi airports were vulnerable and had become a theatre of operations for their forces, with the exception of the airports in Mecca and Medina. The group also held Riyadh responsible for any failed interceptions.
Saudi Arabia has increased its military involvement in Yemen in recent weeks, carrying out strikes against the Houthis and supporting a counteroffensive by Yemeni government forces. The move followed the group’s seizure of strategic territory along the Red Sea coast last month.
Later on Sunday, the Houthi-run foreign ministry said any further Saudi military action would prompt a harsher response, with its own moves guided by reciprocity. It warned, through state-linked broadcaster Al Masirah, that worse developments could follow if Saudi Arabia did not halt what it called aggression and interference in Yemen.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Washington was weighing whether to join the Saudi strikes on the Houthis. The fighting is a spillover from the broader war on Iran, which the United States and Israel launched in February.
Energy congress and ministerial forum go ahead
Despite the airport closure, the Saudi Energy Ministry said a long-planned international energy gathering would continue in Riyadh on Sunday. The five-day WPC Energy Congress is taking place this week at a convention centre about 10 km (6 miles) from the airport.
State television said more than 70 ministers, 300 company executives and representatives of over 25 international energy organisations had confirmed their attendance. It was not immediately clear whether participants would attend in person or join virtually.
A ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum is also scheduled for Sunday, with its plenary session closed to the public, according to a media advisory. No further details were immediately available.
Separately, Saudi authorities told parents that in-person classes would be suspended from Sunday until Thursday. Students, teachers and administrative staff will instead move to remote learning during that period.
