Third Attack on Riyadh Airport Leaves at Least 12 Dead and 309 Wounded, Saudi Authorities Say

A third attack this week on Riyadh’s international airport left at least 12 people dead and 309 wounded on Saturday, the Saudi Civil Aviation authority said, as a wave of missile strikes on Saudi Arabia intensified the regional conflict between the kingdom and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.

All flights to the Saudi capital were diverted or canceled, and Western governments told their citizens to avoid the area. The attack came without warning, and officials briefed on the matter cautioned that the casualty toll was not final, with some of the wounded in critical condition.

The wounded were evacuated to hospitals by ambulance and helicopter, and flight-tracking site flightradar24 showed Riyadh’s airspace essentially empty, with a single helicopter hovering over the airport at one point. Operations were temporarily suspended at the airport, which serves a city of around 8 million people. One eyewitness described seeing an explosion and multiple people lying injured inside the terminal, while an injured traveler told Reuters that something appeared to fly across the sky outside before part of a ceiling near a departure gate collapsed.

No claim of responsibility, but a pointed Houthi signal

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Houthis have been escalating missile strikes on Saudi Arabia and claimed responsibility for the two earlier airport attacks this week. Shortly after Saturday’s strike, the Houthi military spokesperson retweeted his own earlier post warning that only pre-approved humanitarian flights would be allowed to land at Riyadh airport, adding the words: “a reminder.”

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. The strikes have exposed vulnerabilities in the kingdom’s air defenses even as it wages an air campaign supporting Yemeni government ground forces against the group.

Flights canceled, embassies warn citizens

Kuwait Airways canceled flights to and from the Saudi capital, citing the closure of Riyadh airport over the security situation, while Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways canceled multiple flights between their hubs and Riyadh, with some cancellations extending into Monday. The US Embassy in Riyadh said it was aware of attacks and strongly recommended that all American citizens avoid the airport and surrounding areas; the British and Irish embassies said they were aware of a “serious incident,” and Canada’s embassy said ongoing military activity had disrupted operations.

The attacks came days before Riyadh is due to host major energy and investment conferences. Organizers said on Saturday the events would go ahead as planned and sought to reassure attendees of their security. The Saudi-led coalition also said a projectile had fallen near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in the kingdom’s Eastern Region, which has become an important alternative to Riyadh since the attacks began.

President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters outside the White House, was asked whether Washington 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.”

Reporting based on coverage by CNN.