An attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed at least 12 people and injured 309, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said on Sunday, as the Houthis escalated their campaign against the kingdom.
The dead included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis and one national each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Some of the injured were in critical condition and were receiving treatment at several hospitals, GACA said.
The attack, described as the deadliest in Saudi Arabia in more than a decade, occurred without warning, with no alert issued by the kingdom’s threat-warning system.
The latest strike followed two attacks on the airport earlier in the week that killed four people and caused heavy damage to a Saudi commercial aircraft parked on the tarmac.
Flights suspended as Riyadh prepares for major conferences
All flights were diverted from Riyadh on Saturday, and airport operations were temporarily suspended, GACA said. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed flights to the capital had been diverted or cancelled.
The disruption comes shortly before Riyadh is due to host major energy and investment conferences, including the World Petroleum Conference. Organisers had said the events would proceed as planned before Saturday’s attack.
King Khalid International Airport had earlier advised passengers to contact their airlines and check flight status before travelling to the facility. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry also asked citizens whose travel plans had been disrupted to contact local embassies.
The US mission in Saudi Arabia urged American citizens to avoid the airport and surrounding areas, citing reports of attacks. The UK, Irish and Canadian embassies also issued security advisories, with
Canada advising its citizens to avoid all travel to the airport amid ongoing military activity.
The Houthis, who have not claimed responsibility for the latest attack, had warned aviation companies against using Saudi airspace, declaring aircraft operating there targets except over the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Trump considers joining Saudi strikes on Houthis
US President Donald Trump said Washington could join Saudi Arabia’s strikes against the Houthis, adding that he would decide after reviewing the latest attack.
“We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.
“I think it’s terrible. The Saudis are good fighters but I think the attack was a terrible thing,” he said, adding that he planned to speak to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Qatar urges unity
Qatar condemned the attack as a direct threat to regional security. Former Qatari prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani called for practical and decisive support for Saudi Arabia, urging Gulf Cooperation Council states to set aside differences and demonstrate unity.
Japan’s embassy also condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi airports and other civilian facilities. Egypt denounced the attacks as violations of international law and a threat to civilian safety, while Kuwait Airways cancelled flights because of the airport closure.
The Saudi-led coalition described the airport attack as a war crime and said it would respond firmly, Reuters reported.
Yemen fighting intensifies as government forces target Houthis
The airport attack comes amid renewed fighting between Yemen’s internationally recognised government forces and the Houthis.
Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili, a spokesman for the government forces, said more than 1,900 operations had been carried out over 24 hours against weapons and ammunition depots, camps, military positions, reinforcements and other military targets in Houthi-controlled areas.
Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in 2015 at the head of an Arab coalition seeking to dislodge the Houthis from the capital, Sanaa, which the group had seized the previous year.
Tanker hit in Strait of Hormuz as maritime tensions rise
A tanker was hit by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, triggering a fire on board, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said. The outbound vessel was struck on its port side, but its crew was safe.
UKMTO also received reports from several shipmasters near Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE that they had been instructed through VHF broadcasts to leave their anchorages.
Separately, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said a mine struck a crude oil supertanker in the strait, triggering what it described as a “massive explosion”. The IRGC accused the vessel of taking an unauthorised route and switching off its navigation and positioning systems while attempting to leave the waterway.
US says blockade has redirected 135 commercial vessels
US Central Command (Centcom) said it had redirected 135 commercial vessels and disabled four since the US naval blockade against Iran resumed on July 14.
Centcom also said US forces had destroyed 10 tankers linked to what it described as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ multibillion-dollar shadow network.
In a separate incident, the US military said a fighter jet struck the stern of the Panama-flagged cargo vessel Ocean Molica, also known as Arika Sun, in the Gulf of Oman after its crew allegedly ignored warnings and attempted to breach the blockade.
The strike disabled the vessel’s propulsion system without harming its crew, Centcom said. The ship had attempted to transit regional waters after leaving an Iranian port.
The command advised mariners to heed blockade warnings, monitor notices to mariners and contact US naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and approaches to the Strait of Hormuz.
