Yemenupdated 1h ago3 min read
Houthis Attack Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, Killing 12 and Injuring 309
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Houthis attacked King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, killing 12 and injuring 309. Saudi authorities suspended airport operations and diverted flights after the attack.
29 outlets told this the same way.
Riyadh airport strike
Houthis carried out an attack targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon, killing 12 people and injuring 309 others, according to the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation. The Saudi aviation authority said the fatalities included four Saudi citizens and eight foreign residents, including two Bangladeshis and one each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Saudi authorities suspended operations at the airport pending damage assessments and safety checks, and they directed more than a dozen ambulances to the site.
The attack unfolded as Yemen’s Houthi group and Saudi Arabia continued exchanging strikes on major airports, with Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reporting a new wave of air and missile strikes across Houthi-held areas in Yemen targeting Sanaa International Airport. Yemen’s government forces said more than 1,150 Houthi fighters had been "neutralized" and over 180 military and logistical vehicles destroyed or damaged in over 1,900 strikes across multiple fronts in the past 24 hours, though the figures could not be independently verified.
Reactions and warnings
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen vowed to respond firmly, and Turki Al-Malki said on X that the attack carried out by the Houthi group on Saturday constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law. The BBC reported that the United States Embassy said it was aware of the attacks and urged American citizens to avoid the area, while the UK Foreign Secretary urged Britons to avoid the area "until the airport is safe and to follow authorities’ instructions." The United States contemplates joining the coalition against Iran-backed Yemeni militias, and Donald Trump told reporters that what happened in Saudi Arabia is unacceptable.
Hans Grundberg said the attack "constitutes a serious escalation" of the conflict and urged the Houthis to "end these attacks" on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia. The Houthis said they were ready for reciprocal measures with Saudi Arabia to keep airports, seaports and other facilities with humanitarian functions outside the escalating military confrontation.
What comes next
Saudi authorities raised the death toll to 12 and the number of injured to at least 309, and they reported "material damage" from the attack on King Khalid International Airport. The BBC said operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh have been suspended, and it described how several Gulf airlines announced cancellations of flights to and from the airport, with Kuwait Airways citing the "security situation" on the ground. The Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki confirmed that the attacks hit King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, causing 12 deaths, 309 injuries, and the cancellation of flights to and from the aero terminal while damage assessments are underway.
The BBC also described a separate incident in which a projectile fell near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia, and it said the attack comes a day after officials said three Saudis, including a pilot, were killed in two attacks carried out the previous day against the airport by the Houthis. The conflict context remained tied to the Red Sea corridor, as the BBC said the Houthis seized strategic stretches of the Red Sea coast including the port of Mokha in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, and it said the strait is the narrowest point of the Red Sea and a critical passage for global maritime transport.