12 killed, over 300 injured in Houthi missile attack on Saudis Riyadh airport
According to Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority, the dead included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshi nationals and one citizen each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt.
PTC News Desk: At least 12 people were killed and 309 injured in a third attack on Riyadh’s international airport within a week on Saturday, Saudi authorities said. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the strike, marking a major escalation in their campaign against Saudi Arabia.
According to Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority, the dead included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshi nationals and one citizen each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. Hospitals were reportedly overwhelmed as injured people arrived by ambulance and helicopter. Some of the victims were in critical condition, according to people familiar with the situation.
The attack reportedly took place without warning, and Saudi Arabia’s threat alert system did not issue an alert beforehand. Two earlier attacks on King Khalid International Airport during the same week had killed four people and severely damaged a Saudi commercial aircraft parked on the tarmac.
US considering its response: Trump
Reacting to reports of the latest attack, US President Donald Trump described it as “terrible” and praised Saudi forces as “good fighters”. He said Washington was considering its next steps. Asked whether the United States would join Saudi Arabia’s military strikes against the Houthis, Trump said the option was being considered and that a decision would be made soon.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also strongly condemned the attacks on Saturday, confirming that an American citizen was among those killed.
Riyadh airport shut down, flights diverted
All flights heading to Riyadh were diverted on Saturday, and airport operations were temporarily suspended, according to Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority. The airport serves Riyadh, a city with a population of around eight million. Following the attack, the head of the Houthi media office claimed in a post on X that the group had shut down Riyadh International Airport.
The rebels also urged airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, declaring it a military operations zone. This came after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive against the Houthis on Monday. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed that flights bound for Riyadh had either been cancelled or diverted. At one point, only a helicopter was visible flying over the airport.