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At least 12 people were killed and 309 others were injured in a Saturday attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority said on Sunday.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but it comes amid an escalation of missile strikes by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis against Saudi Arabia.
The airport has already been attacked twice this week, leaving four people dead and others wounded, and badly damaging an aircraft.
Saudi Arabia’s early warning system did not issue an alert ahead of Saturday’s incident.
The Saudi government’s media office did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters.
This image from video, obtained and verified by Reuters, shows thick black smoke and flames rising from a fire at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Thursday. It was attacked again on Saturday. (Reuters)
One of the eyewitnesses reported seeing an explosion and then seeing multiple people lying injured on the ground inside the airport. More than a dozen ambulances were seen rushing to the airport.
An injured traveller told Reuters they saw something fly across the sky outside the airport before part of the ceiling near a departure gate collapsed.
Trump mulls joining war
Following the attack, U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters outside the White House, was asked whether the United States planned to join Saudi strikes on the Houthis.
“We may. We’re going to look at it,” he said. “We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”
The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh said it was “aware of attacks” and “strongly recommends all U.S. citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas.”
The U.K. and Irish embassies in Saudi Arabia said in statements on X that they were also aware of a “serious incident” at the airport.
The Canadian Embassy in Saudi Arabia published a statement advising Canadians to avoid all travel to King Khalid International Airport due to the security situation.
Saudi capital due to hold major summits
Flight-tracking site Flightradar24 showed all flights to Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled, with only a helicopter hovering over the airport at one point.
Kuwait Airways said it had cancelled flights to and from the Saudi capital due to what it described as the closure of Riyadh’s airport because of the “security situation” there.
Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways earlier cancelled multiple flights between their respective hubs and Riyadh, with some cancellations extending into Monday.
WATCH | How Yemen’s Houthis could supercharge global trade disruptions:
How Yemen’s Houthis could supercharge global trade disruptions
Houthi rebels have taken control of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline and the strategic strait of Bab al-Mandeb, threatening to further destabilize global trade. For The National, CBC’s Margaret Evans breaks down the militia’s gains and how it could offer Iran more leverage in its war with the U.S.
Houthi attacks on Thursday and earlier in the week had already prompted a number of carriers to suspend or cancel services to the Saudi capital, shortly before Riyadh is due to host major energy and investment conferences.
Organizers of those conferences said on Saturday they would go ahead as planned, and they sought to reassure attendees of their security.
The Houthis have said airliners should avoid Saudi airspace, declaring it a zone of military operations after the Saudi-backed Yemeni government launched an offensive against the group earlier this month.