Saudi civil aviation authorities say an attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and injured more than 300 others, prompting an overnight suspension of airport operations.
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Saudi civil aviation authorities say an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and injured more than 300 others, with some of the wounded in critical condition, in an incident described as the deadliest attack in any Gulf country since the start of the Iran war.
The statement said the dead included four Saudi citizens and two Bangladeshi nationals, as well as one Palestinian, one U.S. citizen, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian and one Sudanese. Injured people were being treated at several hospitals.
Saudi authorities said airport operations were suspended through midnight, as they assessed the extent of injuries and damage. In the immediate aftermath, flights were diverted elsewhere, according to flight-tracking data. The airport also had a heavy police presence, with all entrances blocked, and lights around the complex dimmed.
The attack came after a week of repeated strikes involving the airport. Houthi attacks earlier in the week on King Khalid International Airport killed three Saudis, including a pilot, and on Saturday a missile struck a complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights, according to a regional official speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
President Donald Trump said Saturday he was evaluating whether the United States should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis, saying he had just learned about the recent attack and would make a decision quickly.
The Saudi-led coalition’s major offensive against the Houthis began a week earlier, with fighting escalating in Yemen between Houthi forces and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces. Saudi officials have said the conflict has affected regional air defences and shipping routes, and the Houthis have claimed they are targeting Saudi interests as part of their broader campaign.
As disruptions grew, FlightAware reported at least 291 flights to and from Riyadh had been cancelled over the previous 24 hours. Multiple airlines, including Air India, FlyDubai, Lufthansa Group and Pakistan International Airlines, had suspended flights to and from Riyadh and other Saudi airports for varying periods.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it had expanded guidance on Saudi airspace, citing the Houthis’ ability to strike deeper inside the kingdom and a greater focus on aviation infrastructure, and warning that the combination of missile and drone attacks and interception efforts can increase the risk of misidentification of civil aircraft.
In an additional public warning, Saudi authorities said this week that filming, publishing or sharing information related to countering missiles and drones and their impact sites could expose people to legal liability. Separately, the Houthis warned global airlines about operating in Saudi airspace, describing it as a theatre for their military operations.
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