Twelve killed in attack on Riyadh airport
It marks the deadliest incident in Saudi Arabia’s conflict with the Yemeni Houthis
Saudi civil aviation authorities temporarily suspended airport operations to assess the damage / Photo: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock.com
An attack on Riyadh’s international airport on Saturday killed 12 people and injured 309, Saudi authorities stated. It was the deadliest incident in Saudi Arabia’s conflict with the Yemeni Houthis, Bloomberg reports. Some of the injured were in critical condition. An American was among those killed.
Saudi civil aviation authorities temporarily suspended airport operations to assess the damage. Around 260 flights to and from Riyadh were canceled on Saturday and another 219 were delayed, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24. King Khalid International Airport urged passengers to confirm their flight status directly with airlines before leaving home.
The U.S. warned its citizens to avoid the airport in the Saudi capital. U.S. President Trump said he plans to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “What happened in Saudi Arabia is not acceptable,” he told reporters Saturday evening as he returned to Washington from a political rally.
Context
Saturday’s attack was not the first that week: a strike on the same airport on Thursday killed three Saudi nationals, injured several other people, and damaged a Saudia Airlines aircraft. Earlier in the week, one person was killed in an attack on the capital’s main airport and two others in a strike on the airport in Abha. The Iran-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for both earlier attacks.
The Houthis are facing a ground offensive by a Saudi-led coalition: soldiers from Yemen’s internationally recognized government, supported by the Saudi air force, are trying to retake territory seized by the group over the last month near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The coalition stated that it had gained ground, including retaking the Red Sea port city of Mokha, and that its aim is to “eliminate” the Houthis. The group still controls territory home to around 70% of Yemen’s population, including the capital, Sanaa.
Trump indicated that the U.S. could join the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis. “We may. We’re going to look at it,” he responded when asked by reporters. So far, the Trump administration has been reluctant to get more involved in the Saudi offensive.
